Wives More Likely To Sacrifice Own Career For Husband’s Job: Survey

Women have made great strides in the workplace since the days half a century ago when they were mostly relegated to being teachers, nurses or secretaries. Many are now CEOs, bosses and in some cases, even own their own companies. But a new survey shows while the progress has been great, there’s still at least one hangover from those old days that won’t go away – men’s jobs seem to be valued more than women’s.

According to a survey by two university researchers, when a couple is forced to move because of a job change, it’s usually the wife that winds up having to give up her employment so her husband can take the new position – even if her job pays more. “With so many more dual-earning couples nowadays, more people are facing the situation where they have to decide whose career is more important,” outlines Mary Noonan of the University of Iowa.

And most seem to pick the husband’s career over their own, an indication that those old 50s stereotypes may still be with us. The study looked at more than 4,000 working and married men and women between the ages of 25 and 59. It found males who left their current location for greener pastures earned $3,000 more in their first year in their new digs, compared to an increase of just $700 if they stayed put.

But women who were forced to find jobs in a new city wound up earning less than their counterparts who didn’t leave – and many never got work at all. “Our results support the notion that families migrate to enhance husbands’ careers,” Noonan suggests. “Women are more likely to be the ‘trailing spouse’, following their husbands in a move for his promotion or raise.”

And while the majority of those career moves were for professions that carry that upward mobility and a chance to make even more money down the line, the equality of the situation was still in question.

“Even if you’re a female CEO, you’re also facing negative consequences after the move,” Noonan points out. “That shows us that couples don’t move to promote the women’s career, as otherwise women would be seeing the same benefits as the men.”

The researcher admits her study was based only on short term results and things could improve once a family is more settled into their new digs. But that still doesn’t answer the question of why one gender’s job seems to be more highly valued than another.

“It’s not like men with professional degrees are marrying high school dropouts. Men with advanced degrees tend to marry women with advanced degrees. They’re appealing to each other because they are ambitious, smart and motivated,” Noonan explains. “So what goes on when you have two people who both place importance on their career and a move is necessary to promote one person’s career? How do they decide whose career takes the backseat? What goes into that decision?”

Noonan thinks it’s a throwback to the Leave it to Beaver days, when the husband went to work and the wife stayed home. “People still buy into the stereotypes of what it means to be a good wife,” she believes. “It means that caring for your children and supporting your husband’s career is viewed as a wife’s main priority.”

Not to mention, it would seem, as a full time job.