First I was afraid. I was petrified.
I heard there was a new study from the University of Missouri in Columbia on women breadwinners. Studies about women always make me nervous. After all, people are still buzzing about the research Marcus Buckingham’s been touting on why woman are supposedly so unhappy. And yet, the data does not fully support Buckingham’s claims. And then there was a study out of the UK that said children whose mothers work are less healthy than those whose mothers stay at home. From The Guardian, “Working mothers are more likely to drive their children to school and the youngsters are more likely to watch TV, drink fizzy pop and eat too few portions of fruit and vegetables.” (FYI, there’s no fizzy pop in my house.)
So I could only imagine a study about women breadwinners would paint us as power hungry bitches by day and slothful, self-absorbed mothers at night. (Or was I just projecting?) As it turns out, the study was relatively harmless.
Dr. Rebecca Meisenbach, who conducted the research, reports “The female breadwinner is an increasingly important and common role in contemporary society, one that impacts family relationships, individual identities, and organizational policies.” I thought we already knew this. But hey, it’s always good to have research to back up our beliefs. Meisenbach goes on to report that women breadwinners experience several common emotions:
Control – some want it and some don’t
Independence – considered a positive
Ambition – also considered a positive
Pressure- to perform at work and home, and to respect and value a spouse’s contributions
Worry, guilt and resentment.
Because I am a breadwinner and have been for more than 15 years, it is difficult for me to see what’s so interesting about this study. I’ve always thought these emotions were felt by all parents, spouses and partners, regardless of full-time, part-time, stay-at-home, breadwinner or contributor status. Aren’t work/life balance, care-giving and relationships challenging no matter who pays for the groceries and who cooks dinner?
Meisenbach also discusses the idea that working women who are primary breadwinners “articulate themselves as the ones who ’see’ household messes and needs as a way to retain claim to an element of traditional female identity.” When my husband stopped working altogether, I remember struggling with the fact that he had more say in how the household was run than I did. So it was interesting for me to read this was a common experience.
Except it may not be. Meisenbach only interviewed 15 women for this study. One third of American households have a woman breadwinner and this study runs the risk of defining all of them based on 15 people. To that I say:
Go on now go, walk out the door.
Meisenbach’s work has merit but it is hardly extensive enough to define all women breadwinners. The study may be harmless but the headlines it’s generating are not.
The Wall Street Journal “Trade-Offs When Mom’s the Primary Breadwinner”
United Press International “A Woman Working Impacts All Relationships”
The Guardian, ” ‘Useless stay-at-home men’ a female myth”
Web Newswire “Female breadwinners bring home the bacon and tension”
India Business Blog “Working women nag hubbies to feel more feminine: Study”
And my personal favorite,
Daily News and Analysis “The Thought Process of Female Breadwinners”
This report is not the thought process of female breadwinners. It is the thought process of 15 female breadwinners. Let’s keep that in perspective. And as far as the mainstream media and their sensational treatment of women’s issues:
Just turn around now. You’re not welcome anymore.
(Note: Click on headline for some disco fun.)
