Moms Are Becoming Primary Breadwinners
When I was growing up in the 60's and 70's, it was dad that was the provider. Mom had her hands full with work at home, mainly caring for me.
I grew up liking it that way. And today I have the very same program in place with my family.
But times have changed. In nearly half of households, the moms are making the big money.
According to USA Today, a record 40% of households with children include 'breadwinner moms.'
These moms are the sole or primary source of income for households with children younger than 18, a Pew Research Center analysis finds. The analysis looked at data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The share of households with children where there is a mother who is the sole or primary breadwinner is up about fourfold from 1960, when it was only 11%. The growth of breadwinner moms is tied to women's increased employment rate and rising education levels.
These moms include two groups: 5.1 million (37%) are married mothers who have a higher income than their husbands, and 8.6 million (63%) are single mothers. The median family income for the first group was $79,800 in 2011, compared with $23,000 for the single mothers.