Does a female breadwinner raise risk of divorce?
Yes, and substantially so:
Using German panel data from 1984 to 2007, we analyze the impact of labor division between husband and wife on the risk of divorce. Gary Becker’s theory of marriage predicts that specialization in domestic and market work, respectively, reduces the risk of separation. Traditionally, the breadwinner role is assigned to the husband, however, female labor force participation and their wages have risen substantially. Our results suggest that there are gender-specific differences, e.g. female breadwinner-couples have a substantially higher risk of divorce than male breadwinner-couples. In contrast, the equal division does not significantly alter the probability of separation.
Source: "Effect of Labor Division between Wife and Husband on the Risk of Divorce: Evidence from German Data" from IZA Discussion Paper No. 4515, October 2009
Not very heartening news given how the recession has affected men's employment. If you're interviewing for jobs, I recommend this book.
If your parents divorced, are you more likely to divorce?
What you should look for in a marriage partner
Little known statistics on sex and relationships
