tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post4074265412913021756..comments2023-12-28T18:17:11.191-05:00Comments on Gruntled Center: Liza Mundy 1: The Coming "Breadwomen"Gruntledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14377809238377382438noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-5863040984450547972012-06-16T16:53:20.213-04:002012-06-16T16:53:20.213-04:00I think your first point is especially well-taken....I think your first point is especially well-taken. She is looking at wives with any earnings at all - not at all wives.<br /><br />I think we will never see a time when wives are the primary breadwinners in married families. My educated guess is that 20% is the maximum that figure would ever reach, and at most half that if we looked at married mothers.Gruntledhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14864860607925412103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-15469730210245378972012-06-16T13:58:12.522-04:002012-06-16T13:58:12.522-04:00Ouch. I stand corrected. With her numbers it is mo...Ouch. I stand corrected. With her numbers it is more like 63% of wives with jobs earning less than their husbands.<br /><br />But I think that number is way off as I said.Diane Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-62169290501454454872012-06-16T13:56:04.389-04:002012-06-16T13:56:04.389-04:00I think Mundy is way overstating her case.
1. She...I think Mundy is way overstating her case.<br /><br />1. She only looks at wives who earn money. There is a significant chunk of women who earn nothing at all while caring for their children. So the percentage of wives who earn more than their husbands is even less than the 20-30% we're talking about, pre- and post-Recession.<br /><br />2. Women often do this thing where they work more before kids than later on. So some of the women currently earning as much or more than their husbands, may end up earning less. And women with no kids are very different from women with kids.<br /><br />3. Even if you accept the idea that 30% of wives outearn their husbands, we're looking at 70% of wives who earn less than their husbands. Not 51%, not 60%, 70%!! in a recession where mostly men lost jobs!!!<br /><br />In terms of social policy for women, we need to look at ways to make sure women are okay even though wives will usually earn less than their husbands.<br /><br />And I think the percentage of wives who will earn less than their husbands is probably closer to 80% than 70%.Diane Mnoreply@blogger.com