Does the increase in women working have anything to do with the divorce rate?

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   peeplesposted 12 years ago

   Does the increase in women working have anything to do with the divorce rate?
   
   Do you think the change in the amount of women who don't stay home with their families anymore has anything to do with the high divorce rate?

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   Old Empresarioposted 12 years ago

   No; the fact that men and women are fundamentally incompatible has more to do with the divorce rate.

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3. 60

   fpherj48posted 12 years ago

   Ohhhhh peeples, WHAT a question!   I'll be as brief as possible here, as I Thank you, for a fabulous "Hub Idea"....(How did you know I was wrestling with the BLOCK again?)
   There are so many factors that can be suggested as possible causes that lend to the high divorce rate.  "Working women," is one argument that certainly has been addressed, but it's a terribly weak one, when argued AGAINST. 
   If your question was in reference to issues of children and working Moms, this may be easier.
   IMO, based on many years of "listening" to countless individuals, on the verge of divorce and/or already divorced, but seriously struggling to rebuild their lives......that a woman "works outside the home," is extremely LOW on the list of factors that play a part in divorce.
   I will leave you with a powerful statement to contemplate and give you cause to look at the issue from another angle.
   Just over the past 20 years, the divorce rate has increased incrementally by 40% (being frugal!).....Yes, that is astounding.
   Going all the way back to when the stay-at-home-Mom was the norm.....COUPLES DIVORCED, AT A MERE FRACTION OF THE RATE.  Endless studies of factual data have strongly debunked the possible belief that this "rate increase" has anything at all to do with whether a woman works or not.  There are at least a dozen more realistic reasons, that hold this blame of shame.
   In the past 15 years, at least, the number ONE reason, hands down, is infidelity.

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   chef-de-jourposted 12 years ago

   There must be some evidence to support the fact that rising divorce rates are near coincidental to the number of women (and mothers) now working. I don't have exact correlative figures but it must be a factor. Working women have more potential distractions to overcome and,like the male, succumb to temptation.
   
   There are other reasons for high divorce rates - the modern trends of fickleness/mobility/dissatisfaction and more adventurous sexual tendencies, lack of commitment, alcohol, individual freedoms. The family unit is now unrecognisable to what it was thirty/forty years ago. It's also become fragmented and undermined by increased technology and more flexible working /leisure habits.
   
   I suppose there are pluses and minuses - more women at work means they are more independent financially and equal on terms with the male. However, they don't have time for the traditional home-making skills which used to be a woman's raison d'etre for living! You only have to look at some of those 50s and 60s advertisements to see how sexist the world was back then. Have we progressed?
   
   The whole concept of marriage and divorce (and love!) has changed and perhaps needs closer inspection. We are not so loyal these days. Loyalty is something materialism has virtually destroyed, and with our fixation on instant celebrity, beautification and what not, we become too judgemental and fall into emotional traps we lay for ourselves.
   
   The other crucial factor is religion. Whilst many still see themselves as Christian their beliefs and habits are not so strongly rooted, plus the church has loosened its grip on people's lives. Priests are now not nearly as powerful as they were a few generations ago.
   
   So concluding, I think yes, more women working has definitely affected the divorce rates but you have to view this alongside other major factors as mentioned briefly above.
   
   Interesting question!

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   dashingscorpioposted 12 years ago

   Absolutely! The biggest change we have today compared to the 1950s is better employment opportunities for women and higher pay. The overall reason for divorce is selecting the wrong mate.
   However it does stand to reason the more (options) one has the less (crap) they are willing to put up with! LOL!
   Women from earlier generations most likely had to rely on their husbands for financial stability. A recent survey was done by AARP which revealed that 66% or 2/3rds of all divorces in the U.S. are initiated by (women). In fact most friends of mistresses will warn them by saying: "The husband never leaves the wife." Essentially it appears an unhappily married man is more likely to cheat and an unhappily married woman is likely to file for divorce.
   All in all I think it's great that women have better employment and financial opportunities. I would not want a wife to stay with me because of my income. However it cannot be denied that there is connection between women having more financial independence and a rise in divorce rates. Awhile back I wrote a hub on this subject. http://dashingscorpio.hubpages.com/hub/ … getmarried

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   MissJamieDposted 12 years ago

   In my opinion, women working has a lot to do with the downturn of society in general. Not just because women are working, but because both parents are working. God didn't form us to be raised by strangers, we're supposed to spend our childhoods being loved and nurtured and taught by our mothers and/or fathers. When none of this is taking place except on nights and weekends, it throws off the societal responsibilities we were bred to have and possess. And yes, women working probably does have  alot to do with divorce rate as well, in the past either the man or woman took care of all income in the home (which was usually coming from one person), but now there's two incomes to screw up and make things more difficult. In society if we make more we spend more, instead of rationing out the one income families had in the past, we spend, spend, spend to show off all the things we've worked for. So, instead of staying home with our children and not owning 4 story homes, we're working to keep up with the jones's. And I realize that life is expensive nowdays and there are bills to pay but if everyone went back to the basics and didn't spend $5 on a cup of coffee a day and going out to eat for every meal because both parents are too busy to cook a good meal, we could all do it. We could have one parent home or maybe just working part-time so the children are being raised by their parents. Wives would be home for their husbands instead of running around like banshee's trying to catch up on all the things she couldn't do all day while at work. We could stand to live in simpler times again but we have to, as a society, decide that's what we're going to do. We have to make the mature decision to give up the latte's and the F350's and Escalades that nobody can afford to put gas into. We have to give up the McDonalds every day and plan a budget and make weekly menu's to make life simpler. We need to have our own gardens even if it's just a few herbs in your aparmtment, every penny counts. We don't need 7.000 TV channels. How about everybody exercises or has dinner at the table or has a family meeting hour each night where everybody can talk and be listened to. How about the adult who stays home has a meal waiting for them when they get home from a long day at work, and a clean house. It's not that difficult, I was a stay-at-home-mom for 15 years and my husband was not a doctor! You can do it! Save our marriages, save our children, stop spoiling yourselves.

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   1. 92

      peeplesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I could not have said it any better than this! What a great answer!

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