New research released today indicates that women who work are three times more likely to divorce than women who don’t. And women who work long hours are more likely to divorce than women who work less. Here’s an article about the research from the Independent (UK). The research is due to be published in the European Sociological Review.
The researchers based their findings on a database of more than 2,000 people, including 1,000 divorced women. They examined the number of working hours before and after divorce and questioned the women about whether they anticipated divorce in the future.
So what’s the explanation? Theories abound, but my guess is that it’s a combination of these factors:
One factor can apparently be ruled out. The researchers say they’ve already corrected for the possibility that women planning to divorce were more likely to go back to work so they could prepare for the split.
Interesting. Your logic seems clever enough but has it been tested. A small sample, too
. An interesting counterweight to the “must work” brigade, which is the other side of the
“must stay in the kitchen” of before. The real economic contribution, benefit and cost, must
must be worked out. Also, your comments box runs into the advertisement…hard to type.