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UK Wedding News

18/02/2014

Couples Less Likely To Split If Mums Earn More

A new study has suggested that couples are more likely to stay together if the mother earns more money than their children's father.

The findings, which have been based on a survey of almost 4,000s couple in Britain with children, are in contrast to previous research which found that couples are less likely to separate if the father earns more money.

The latest study, which has been published in the journal Sociology, was carried out by Dr Shireen Kanji of Leicester University and colleague Dr Pia Schober, of the German Institute for Economic Research. They found that when a working mum brings home 20% higher wages than their partner, the chances of the couple separating are much lower than if the father was the higher earner. It added that family stability was even stronger if the couple are married.

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Dr Kanji explained: "Sociological and economic theories have long predicted that women's increased economic independence would undermine the institution of marriage.

"Previous studies of married couples in the UK provided evidence that women's higher earnings increased the risk of divorce.

"We found that influential theories that a woman's higher earnings elevate the risk of divorce are unfounded among contemporary parents in the UK."

Elsewhere, the report said that the number of women earning 'substantially' more than their husband falls sharply in the first years of their child's life, but when a married mother earned 20% more than the father, the risk of the couple divorcing was 80% lower than if the father earned more.

Looking at unmarried parents, the risk of a relationship breaking down was 60% lower when it was the mother earning the higher income. However, the number of higher-earning mothers falls sharply after a child is born. For example, the amount of mothers who earn 20% more than fathers decreased from 6% to 3.8% by the time a child was five; while the number of women who earned the same as their husbands or partners fell from 11% to 4.3% over the first five years of a child's life.

Dr Kanji added: "Our findings show that equal earning, and a mother being a main earner, are not destabilising influences on relationships, even at an intense time of childcare responsibilities."

(JP/IT)

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"A new study has suggested that couples are more likely to stay together if the mother earns more money than their children's father."