Movin' on Up: Working Wives Contributing More to Household Income

Increasingly becoming breadwinners

Working wives are now contributing more to the family's earnings. They now contribute 47 percent to the household's earnings (up from 38 percent in 1988) while husbands account for 53 percent (down from 62 percent). The share of family income had the biggest one-year increase in nearly 25 years between 2008 and 2009 — the worst of the recession. During recessions, women’s contributions to family incomes have historically risen, as men lose jobs and women become primary breadwinners. In households in which men don’t have a college degree, women’s financial contributions play an even bigger role because the men with lower levels of education were hit hardest by job losses during the recession. Still, on average, women still earn just 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. (Boston)

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