Newswise — According to a recent study published in the European Sociological Review, men's wellbeing tends to be lower when their female partners are the sole earners in a relationship, compared to situations where both partners are employed or the man is the main breadwinner. The study, conducted by Dr. Helen Kowalewska from the University of Bath and Dr. Agnese Vitali from the University of Trento, examined survey data from over 42,000 individuals in nine countries, including the UK.
To measure wellbeing, participants were asked to rate their life satisfaction on a scale from zero (extremely dissatisfied) to ten (extremely satisfied). Typically, most people fell within the range of five to eight. The study found that men reported a 'life satisfaction' score of 5.86 when their female partners were the sole earners, whereas this score increased to 7.16 when men were the primary earners.
Interestingly, the research also revealed that wellbeing was at its lowest in couples where the woman was the primary earner and the man was 'unemployed' rather than 'inactive' (not actively seeking work and/or engaged in housework or caregiving responsibilities). Unemployment is often associated with significant psychological costs, including self-doubt, uncertainty, loneliness, and societal stigma, which could contribute to the decreased wellbeing in such relationships.
The study also found that men experience higher levels of wellbeing when their female partners are unemployed, whereas women's wellbeing remains equally low regardless of whether their partner is employed or not. In other words, while both men and women find it challenging when the man is unemployed, only women seem to struggle when they themselves are jobless.
The researchers propose that unemployed men may be more susceptible to feelings of isolation and loneliness because they are less likely than women to have supportive social networks within their communities or caregiving circles.
On the other hand, societal expectations of selflessness may lead unemployed women to go to greater lengths than unemployed men to shield their partners from their own distress. This dynamic could also work in reverse, where the woman may be more affected by the struggles of her unemployed partner compared to how he would react if their roles were reversed.
Additionally, the study highlights that compared to couples where both partners are employed or where the man is the primary earner, female-breadwinner couples tend to have lower household incomes and are more likely to find it challenging to cope with their financial situation. Moreover, a higher proportion of men in female-breadwinner couples report poor health and have lower levels of education, which are all factors associated with decreased life satisfaction.
After taking various factors into account, such as marital status, age, attitudes towards gender, and each partner's relative contribution to household income, women's wellbeing only experiences a slight decline when they are the sole earners. For women, it appears that the characteristics of female-breadwinner couples largely explain their slightly lower wellbeing.
However, even with these controls in place, men's life satisfaction scores still show a significant decrease when the woman is the sole earner instead of the man. In Germany, this difference amounts to more than one full point in life satisfaction (-1.112). Similar patterns are observed in Spain (-0.616), Ireland (-0.609), France (-0.586), Finland (-0.566), and the UK (-0.423).
According to the researchers, the persistent lower wellbeing among men in female-breadwinner households, even after controlling for other factors, likely indicates the importance of being the primary breadwinner for men's sense of identity. The traditional role of providing financial support for the family remains a crucial aspect of masculinity and being perceived as a 'good' father.
Dr. Helen Kowalewska, the lead researcher from the University of Bath's Department of Social & Policy Sciences, explains the significance of their findings: "Our study highlights how gender norms influence how couples handle unemployment, with men attaching greater importance to their own employment status compared to their partner's."
"We hope that our results will spark discussions on this crucial topic, both within couples and among policymakers. It is essential to address the association between being the breadwinner and masculinity. This might involve delving deeper into gender norms within educational curricula and promoting campaigns and incentives to encourage more men to take advantage of Shared Parental Leave, for example."
"In the end, we must continuously challenge the deeply ingrained belief that men must be the primary breadwinners, so that men do not feel like failures when they are unable to fulfill this societal expectation."
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