Abstract
Advanced societies are characterized by a greater incorporation of women into the labor market, with women having increasingly higher levels of education and occupying more prominent positions. This trend has resulted in growing number of households in which women earn more than their male partners. This study analyzes the presence of these women in countries with different welfare models, examining the most relevant characteristics and the impact on the family and on household management. To fulfill these objectives, we used the latest wave of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) Family and Changing Gender Roles IV (2012). The characteristics studied were grouped into four dimensions: country of residence, sociodemographic characteristics, egalitarian values, and the management of intimacy. Our results indicate that female primary breadwinners tend to be older and more educated than their male partners, less religious, and more likely not to have children; they have more egalitarian values and a greater tendency to manage money separately.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
International Social Survey Programme: Family and Changing Gender Roles IV—ISSP 2012. GESIS Data Archive, Cologne. ZA5900 Data file Version 4.0.0, https://doi.org/10.4232/1.12661
Code Availability
STATA 14 software, IBM SPSS Statistics version 23.
References
Ajenjo Cosp, M., & García Román, J. (2014). Changes in couples’ time use. Are we moving toward greater equality? Revista Internacional De Sociología, 72(2), 453–476. https://doi.org/10.3989/ris.2012.05.28
Ayuso Sánchez, L. (2019a). Nuevas imágenes del cambio familiar en España. Revista Española De Sociología, 28(2), 269–287.
Ayuso Sánchez, L. (2019b). La familia española y la opinión pública en perspectiva internacional. Panorama Social, 30, 91–106.
Beck, E., & Beck-Gernsheim, E. (2002). Reinventing the family. Search of new lifestyles. Cambridge: Polity.
Bellani, D., Esping-Andersen, G., & Nedoluzhko, L. (2017). Never partnered: A multilevel analysis of lifelong singlehood. Demographic Research, 37, 53–100. https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2017.37.4
Bergsvik, J., Kitterød, R. H., & Wiik, K. A. (2020). Parenthood and couples’ relative earnings in Norway. European Sociological Review, 36(2), 218–235. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcz062
Blaauboer, M., Mulder, C. H., & Zorlu, A. (2011). Distances between couples and the man’s and women’s parents. Population, Space and Place, 17, 597–610. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.648
Card, D. (1999). The causal effect of education on earnings. Handbook of Labor Economics, 3, 1801–1864. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1573-4463(99)03011-4
Carvalho, J., Francisco, R., & Relvas, A. P. (2015). Family functioning and information and communication technologies: How do they relate? A literature review. Computers in Human Behavior, 45, 99–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.11.037
Cooke, L. P. (2009). Gender equity and fertility in Italy and Spain. Journal of Social Policy, 38(1), 123–140. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279408002584
Cabré, A., Cortina, C., & Esteve, A. (2007). Un siglo de ajustes por edad en los mercados matrimoniales: España 1922–2004. Papers De Demografía, 317, 1–20.
Cantillon, S., Maître, B., & Watson, D. (2016). Family financial management and individual deprivation. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 37(3), 461–473. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-015-9466-z
Çineli, B. (2020). Money management and gender equality: An analysis of dual-earner couples in Western Europe. Family Relations, 69, 803–819. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12465
Day, C. (2018). Inverse J effect of economic growth on fertility: A model of gender wages and maternal time substitution. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 39, 577–587. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-018-9578-3
Delgado, M. (2007). Opiniones y Actitudes no59: Encuesta de fecundidad, familia y valores 2006. Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas.
Dema, S. (2006). Una pareja, dos salaries. El dinero y las relaciones de poder en las parejas de doble ingreso. Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas.
Dema, S. (2009). Behind the negotiations: Financial decision-making processes in Spanish dual-income couples. Feminist Economics, 15(1), 27–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545700802620575
Dema, S., & Díaz, C. (2010). Gender inequalities and the role of money in Spanish dual-income couples. European Societies, 12(1), 65–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616690903219181
Dermott, E. (2008). Intimate fatherhood: A sociological analysis. Routledge.
Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Polity Press.
Esping-Andersen, G. (2016). Families in the 21st century. SNS Förlag.
Esping-Andersen, G., & Billari, F. C. (2015). Re-theorizing family demographic. Population and Development Review, 41(4), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2015.00024.x
Esteve, A., Garcia-Roman, J., & Permanyer, I. (2012). The gender-gap reversal in education and its effect on union formation: The end of hypergamy? Population and Development Review, 38(3), 535–546. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2012.00515
Falkenberg, L., & Monachello, M. (1990). Dual-career and dual-income families: Do they have different needs? Journal of Business Ethics, 9(4/5), 339–351. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00380332
García Román, J. (2020). The division of gender roles in female breadwinner couples in the United States and Spain. Revista Española De Investigaciones Sociológicas, 170, 73–94. https://doi.org/10.5477/cis/reis.170.73
Giddens, A. (1991). The consequences of modernity. Polity Press.
Giddens, A. (1992). The transformation of intimacy. Sexuality, love & eroticism in modern societies. Polity Press.
Giordano, C. (2019). The role of gender regimes in defining the dimension, the functioning and the workforce composition of paid domestic work. Feminist Review, 122, 95–117. https://doi.org/10.1177/0141778919851060
González, M. J., Jurado, T., & Naldini, M. (2009). What made him change? An individual and national analysis of men’s participation in housework in 26 countries. DemoSoc working paper, 30.
Gornick, J. C., & Meyers, M. K. (2008). Creating Gender Egalitarian Societies: An agenda for reform. Politics & Society, 36(3), 313–349. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032329208320562
Gupta, S. (2007). Autonomy, dependence, or display? The relationship between married women’s earnings and housework. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 399–417. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2007.00373.x
Hakim, C. (2003). Models of the family in modern societies: Ideals and realities. Ashgate Publishing.
Hakim, C. (2007). Women, careers, and work-life preferences. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 34(3), 279–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069880600769118
Inglehart, R. (2000). Modernization, cultural change, and the persistence of traditional values. American Sociological Review, 65(1), 19–51. https://doi.org/10.2307/2657288
ISSP Research Group. (2016). International Social Survey Programme: Family and changing gender roles IV - ISSP 2012. GESIS Data Archive, Cologne. ZA5900 Data file Version 4.0.0. https://doi.org/10.4232/1.12661
Javornik, J. (2014). Measuring state de-familialism: Contesting post-socialist exceptionalism. Journal of European Social Policy, 24(3), 240–257. https://doi.org/10.1177/0958928714525815
Jensen, P. H. (2017). Cause and effects of female labour force participation in local welfare systems. European Societies, 19(2), 121–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2016.1268706
Kornrich, S., & Eger, M. A. (2016). Family life in context: Men and women’s perceptions of fairness and satisfaction across thirty countries. Social Politics, 23(1), 40–69. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxu030
Korpi, W. (2000). Faces of inequality: Gender class, and patterns of inequalities in different types of welfare states. Social Politics, Summer. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/7.2.127
Lauer, S. R., & Yodanis, C. (2011). Individualized marriage and the integration of resources. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73, 669–683. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2011.00836.x
Lewis, J. (1992). Gender and the development of welfare regimes. Journal of European Social Policy, 2, 159–173. https://doi.org/10.1177/095892879200200301
Lewis, J. (2007). Families, individuals and the state. In J. Hills, J. Le Grand, & D. Piachaud (Eds.), Making policy work. Policy Press.
Lopata, H. Z. (1973). Widowhood in an American City. Routledge.
Lott, Y. (2017). When my money becomes our money: Changes in couples’ money management. Social Policy and Society, 16(2), 199–218. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746415000688
Ludwig-Mayerhofer, W., Allmendinger, J., Hirseland, A., & Schneider, W. (2011). The power of money in dual-earner couples: A comparative study. Acta Sociológica. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001699311422091
Meil, G. (1999). La postmodernización de la familia española. Acento Editorial.
Michotte, A. (1963). The perception of causality. Psychology library editions: Perception. Routledge.
Molina, J. A. (2020). The work-family conflict: Evidence from the recent decade and lines of future research. Journal of Family and Economic Issues. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-020-09700-0
Mood, C. (2010). Logistic regression: Why we cannot do what we think we can do, and what we can do about it. European Sociological Review, 26(1), 67–82. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcp006
Moreno, A. (2005). Empleo de la mujer y familia en los regímenes de bienestar del sur de Europa en perspectiva comparada. Permanencia del modelo de varón sustentador. REIS, 112, 131–163.
Moreno, S. (2017). The gendered division of housework time: Analysis of time use by type and daily frequency of household tasks. Time and Society, 26(1), 3–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X15577269
Naldini, M. (2003). The family in the Mediterranean Welfare State. Frank Cass.
Naldini, M., & Jurado, T. (2013). Family and welfare state reorientation in Spain and Inertia in Italy from a European Perspective. Population Review. https://doi.org/10.1353/prv.2013.0003
OECD. (2019). Labour: Labour market statistics. Main Economic Indicators (database). https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00046-en
OECD. (2019). Education at a Glance 2019. OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/f8d7880d-en
Oertzen, C. V., & Rietzschel, A. (1997). Comparing the post-war Germanies: Breadwinner ideology and women’s employment in the divided nation, 1948–1970. International Review of Social History, 42, 175–196. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002085900011483X
Oppenheimer, V. K. (1988). A theory of marriage timing. American Journal of Sociology, 94(3), 563–591. https://doi.org/10.1086/229030
Oppenheimer, V. K., & Lew, V. (1995). American marriage formation in the eighties: How important was women’s economic independence? In K. Oppenheim Manson & A. Jensen (Eds.), Gender and family change in industrialized countries (pp. 105–138). Clarendon.
Pahl, J. (2008). Family finances, individualisation, spending patterns and access to credit. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 37, 577–591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2006.12.041
Parsons, T., & Bales, R. (1955). Family socialization and interaction process. The Free Press.
Requena, F. (2005). La estructura ocupacional española: un análisis de la encuesta de calidad de vida en el trabajo. Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales.
Requena, F. (2015). Absence of support networks and welfare systems. Social Science Quarterly, 96(5), 1436–1452. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12204
Ryan, M., & Haslam, S. A. (2007). The glass cliff: Exploring the dynamics surrounding the appointment of women to precarious leadership positions. Academy of Management Review, 32(2), 549–572. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.2007.24351856
Roth, S., & Saunders, C. (2019). Do gender regimes matter? Gender differences in involvement in anti-austerity protests—a comparison of Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Social Movement Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/14742837.2019.1676222
Ruspini, E., & Crespi, I. (2016). Balancing work and family in a changing society. Palgrave Macmillan.
Sennett, R. (1998). The corrosion of character: The personal consequences of work in the new capitalism. W.W. Norton & Company.
Shaver, S. (2018). Handbook on gender and social policy. International Handbooks on Gender Series. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781785367168
Simmel, G. (1990) [1900]. The philosophy of money. Routledge.
Sparham, E. B. (2019). Breadwinning mothers: The lived realities between work and home. University of Leicester.
United Nations. (2010). Achieving gender equality, women’s empowerment and strengthening development cooperation. United Nations.
United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/
Vogler, C., Brockmann, M., & Wiggins, R. D. (2006). Intimate relationships and changing patterns of money management at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The British Journal of Sociology, 57(3), 455–482. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-4446.2006.00120.x
Voicu, M., Voicu, B., & Strapcova, K. (2009). Housework and gender inequality in European countries. European Sociological Review, 25(3), 365–377.
Yeandle, S., Bennett, C., Buckner, L., Escott, K., & Grant, L. (2009). Women’s labor market situation: Myths, puzzles and problems. In S. Yeandle (Ed.), Policy for a change (pp. 35–56). Policy Press.
Zelizer, V. A. (2009). The purchase of intimacy. Princeton University Press.
Zelizer, V. A. (2011). Economic lives: How culture shapes the economy. Princeton University Press.
Funding
This work was supported by: Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain under Project PID2020-115673RB-I00. Project GESTIM (BBVA Foundation 35/2018). ERDF Andalusia Programme financed by the European Union, Project #UMA18-FEDERJA-103.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Khamis, N., Ayuso, L. Female Breadwinner: More Egalitarian Couples? An International Comparison. J Fam Econ Iss 43, 534–545 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-021-09784-2
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-021-09784-2