Women As Breadwinners – Good? Bad? Discuss.

Pew came out with a study this week, which shows that "a record 40% of all households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for the family, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The share was just 11% in 1960. These “breadwinner moms” are made up of two very different groups: 5.1 million (37%) are married mothers who have a higher income than their husbands, and 8.6 million (63%) are single mothers."

The study goes on to say that working mothers have benefitted families overall from an economic standpoint (duh), but there is a growing concern about the effect this breadwinner status has on the family dynamic and on children and their overall development as people, specifically.

Behold (empahsis mine):

While the vast majority of Americans (79%) reject the idea that women should return to their traditional roles, the new Pew Research survey finds that the public still sees mothers and fathers in a different light when it comes to evaluating the best work-family balance for children.

About half (51%) of survey respondents say that children are better off if a mother is home and doesn’t hold a job, while just 8% say the same about a father.

On the topic of single mothers, most Americans (64%) say that this growing trend is a “big problem”; however, the share who feel this way is down from 71% in 2007.

Some interesting numbers there, huh?

As most of our clever and competent readers know by now, Mock and I both work outside the home (in addition to running this site and Facebook page and radio show and….), and we are 50/50 equal income producers in our own respective households, alongside our husbands.  In other words, our day jobs are necessary for our families' survival.  So we get the whole women-as-breadwinners thing.  We're also in the process of doing research for our first book, which is due to come out in 2014 – the entirety of which will center around feminism and what a complete crock of crap it is today, and how it's been hijacked by liberal harpies who like to CALL themselves feminists, all while bitching about how some sugar-daddy-taxpayer needs to pay for their $9 birth control, because they just don't want to.  WAAAAH.  Empowerment, huh Sandra Fluke?  

One of the chapters will deal specifically with this notion of woman-as-breadwinner, and the fact that men in this country have been reduced to big fat wussies as a direct result of the liberal-feminist movement.  

Stay tuned. 

It's definitely a touchy and complicated subject, as evidenced by watching the video below, where Megyn Kelly spars with Lou Dobbs and Erick Erickson over this very study.  It seems that the boys are horrified by women being breadwinners.  And I assume there are some women out there who are horrified by this breadwinner status, too (see numbers in Pew poll above).  Hell, even some of the most "enlightened" liberal men in this world are horrified by women having blogs, as evidenced by Mock and I having one (see our hate mail).  

And all the discussion this week prompts me to ask you, clever and competent readers…..what do you think?

Because I know I can count on you to give me your thoughts on this subject.  🙂