Women who earn more than their male partners remain more likely to experience relationship breakdown, according to a major cross-country study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family. The study, titled “Women’s Socioeconomic Advantage Over Their Partners and Relationship Dissolution: A 29-Country Study,” was conducted by Pilar Gonalons-Pons and Allison Dunatchik.
However, the research challenges the long-standing assumption that traditional gender norms are the primary force behind this pattern, instead highlighting the complex relationship between income, gender, and modern family life.
Over the past few decades, women have surpassed men in educational attainment across many high-income countries and are increasingly becoming the higher earners in their relationships. Earlier studies consistently found that these couples face a greater risk of separation or divorce, reinforcing the idea that conflicts with the traditional male breadwinner role destabilize partnerships.
Alternative explanations have focused on women’s greater financial independence, differences in earning potential, or the tendency for people to partner with those from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. The new study set out to test these competing theories using a much larger and more diverse sample than previous research.
Large-scale data from 29 countries
Led by University of Pennsylvania sociologist Pilar Gonalons-Pons, the researchers analyzed harmonized panel data from 544,911 different-sex couples across 29 high-income countries between 2004 and 2020. The sample included 437,102 married couples and 107,809 cohabiting couples drawn from major longitudinal household surveys.
Using statistical models, the team examined whether women’s higher earnings relative to their male partners predicted relationship dissolution. At the same time, they evaluated several competing explanations, including prevailing gender norms, women’s economic independence, local labor market conditions, and the division of work and family responsibilities within households.
The findings confirmed a persistent pattern: couples in which women earned more than their partners were 36% more likely to separate than couples in which the man was the primary breadwinner. However, the data did not support the idea that this association is strongest in societies with more traditional gender attitudes.
Gender norms fall short as an answer
Countries with more conservative views about the roles of men and women did not show a significantly stronger association between female breadwinning and relationship dissolution. This weakens the assumption that cultural discomfort with women earning more than men is the primary source of relationship strain in these couples.
The researchers also found little evidence supporting explanations based primarily on women’s financial independence. In other words, the increased likelihood of separation could not be adequately explained by the assumption that women who earn more simply have greater financial freedom to leave unsatisfying relationships.
Similarly, differences in partners’ future earning potential or opportunities to form relationships with someone of a similar socioeconomic background did not fully explain the findings. Even after accounting for these factors, the association between women’s higher earnings and relationship dissolution remained.
Work-family conflict emerges as key
The strongest evidence instead pointed toward work-family conflict, particularly among couples with children. The study found that the association between female breadwinning and relationship breakdown was considerably stronger for parents than for childless couples.
Female breadwinner couples raising children were 49% more likely to separate than couples with children in which the man earned more. By comparison, childless couples in which the woman earned more were 23% more likely to separate than childless male-breadwinner couples.
These findings suggest that when women maintain demanding careers after having children while household and caregiving responsibilities remain unevenly distributed, relationship strain may intensify. The authors argue that unequal expectations surrounding unpaid domestic work can make these relationships more difficult to sustain over time.
The study also found partial evidence that anticipated separation or worsening financial circumstances may act as confounding factors. Some couples may already be moving toward separation when women’s earnings increase or when economic pressures intensify, making it difficult to determine the exact direction of cause and effect.
Limits and implications of the research
The researchers emphasize that their findings do not demonstrate that women’s higher earnings directly cause relationships to fail. Instead, female breadwinning appears to coincide with other challenges—particularly those related to balancing work and caregiving—that may undermine relationship stability.
One important limitation is that the dataset does not include precise information about relationship duration, even though the likelihood of separation naturally changes over time. Newly formed relationships, for example, are often more vulnerable regardless of income patterns.
The analysis also relies on large international surveys that cannot fully capture the complexities of relationship quality, communication, or interpersonal conflict. Important dynamics involving power, expectations, emotional support, and household negotiations are difficult to measure using standardized questionnaires.
The study is limited to different-sex couples living in high-income countries, meaning the findings may not apply directly to lower-income settings or same-sex relationships. Previous research suggests that gender expectations and economic realities vary considerably across cultures and communities.
The findings nevertheless carry important policy implications. Expanding access to paid parental leave, flexible work arrangements, and affordable childcare could help reduce work-family conflict, particularly in households where women are the primary earners. Encouraging a more equal division of unpaid household labor may also reduce relationship strain.
As women’s earnings continue to rise relative to men’s, the authors argue that understanding the pressures facing female breadwinner couples will become increasingly important. Their findings suggest that the central challenge may lie not in women’s economic success itself, but in how families and institutions adapt to changing economic roles.
