There was a recent Pew Center study (http://bit.ly/PewCtr) that revealed how much more equal income has become between the genders. In more cases than ever, more women are working and more women are earning higher income than their male counterparts. While I believe totally in equal pay for equal work, I do question the impact on relationships when the woman is making more than the man.
With each generation becoming more accustomed to gender equality, I feel it will eventually settle into a comfortable reality that men and women will accept. But, for now and maybe longer, the inherent gender differences may remain and be a problem between couples when the woman is making more than the man.
What do women want from their men and men from their women? I assert that women look for security, first and foremost, in a man while men look for a loving, supportive partner, as well as a good-looking one. Crucify me, but this is the truth. Women also tend to like guys with a sense of humor as much as good looks, while men will date a model with no personality and still brag to their guy friends.
So, I like the fact that in every relationship I’ve had, including my two marriages, I feel more like a man having been the bigger earner. Call it an ego thing, an immature trait, but it’s the truth of how I feel. And it’s yet another dirty little secret that most men and women feel, too.
All this said, I support women earning as much as they can and if a woman partner is the higher earner, I want and hope it won’t damage the relationship with their men. But, it’s harder. You can say, as I suspect many of you will, “what does he know, he’s just a guy.”
