The Relationship Between a Working Woman and Divorce

Women's relationship with work and marriage are often connected, because women are the foundation of their household and ensuring the stability of both financial and personal positions impacts their decisions long-term, but is their professional life a direct consequence to the rise of the divorce rate? According to Kerby Anderson in his Theological dissertation, "Economic opportunities also seem to be a significant factor in divorce. The rise in divorce closely parallels the increase in the number of women working. Women with a paycheck were less likely to stay in a marriage that wasn't fulfilling to them." Working women are more independent than housewives without employment and the incentive for staying in an unhappy marriage is no longer there. After determining these factors, we have to look at the benchmark results of women's participation in the work force and the divorce rate statistics as shown on the graph below. The two graphs are independent of each other to show separate actual trends.

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Table 1: Data source taken from the U.S. Census Bureau

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Table 2: Data source taken from the U.S. Census Bureau

The divorce rate spiked in 2003 and started a steady climb showing a 29% increase from 1995, but looking at the gradual increase of employed women versus the number of unemployed women over a ten-year span, we can say that the percentage of employed women only increased about 13% in 2005 from 1995 and the number of unemployed women increased about 10%. Based on these statistics, it seems as the married woman in the work force is a strong factor in divorces, but after further evaluation of both issues in Table 3, the growth difference of divorced employed women is about less than 10% between 1995 and 2005.

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Table 3: Data source taken from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Marriage is a promised responsibility to maintain the livelihood of both partners bound with an emotional tie, but stressful situations test that promise often. Not every marriage is happily-ever-after and requires extra effort from both partners, but if one or either fails to provide support to the marriage, then divorce is absolute. Typically, women are the Keepers of the Home, however, it is a possibility that less time away from the household forces alternative resources to keep the home functioning peacefully and as a result, the battle for equality between man and woman ensue. Research on interpersonal relationships with men and women in marriages have shown that most women blame a non-romantic partner or lack of displayed interest while more men vote in-laws and sexual incompatibility. There are the traditional gender role stereotypes that contribute to the strain of a marriage for working couples. In the past, men have always been considered the "breadwinner" or the "man of the house". The increasing number of women joining the labor force had threatened this security and gaining their financial independence on top of maintaining a controlled household, something a husband is not typically known to be able to handle. More importantly, sociological and economical case studies have displayed a trend that most women start to feel an emotional disconnection in the marriage when they see that they can support the household on their own. As Anna Lichman states in her 2002 editorial, "...husbands of employed wives do almost no more housework than other husbands (Gaugner & Halxer, 1980)" she further states, "This difference between role and expectancy may further harm the marital relationship by adding stress to it and breaking down the positive interaction and increasing the negative reaction." I will not conclude that wives working has a direct impact on the marriage, but I will say that a concrete relationship is set when all aspects of the marriage responsibility is communicated clearly and understood completely by both parties, it paves the road to a harmonious communal.