The Big Five

July 2, 2009 posted by Kyla Bender-Baird

I was playing around on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website when I ran across this stat:

Among families where both spouses are bringing home the bacon, 25.7% of women earn more than their husbands (as of 2006).   This is up from 17.8% just two decades ago. 

My mind automatically jumped to: what will this figure look like for 2009? The media LOVES reminding us that men’s unemployment is currently higher than women’s.  I mean, this is a fact. The latest figures show that men’s unemployment is now at 10% and women’s is at 7.6%. However, this in no way tells the whole story. It doesn’t tell the story of how women are much more likely to be part-time and/or minimum wage workers. 

But back to that stat.  Despite wage inequity, women are increasingly earning more than their husbands. Of course, if you report the stat as 75% of men earn more than their wives…that puts a different spin on things (it’s all in how you frame the numbers).  Still, I think there’s something here about women and money that needs to be explored more. Perhaps I just have Jacki Zehner in my head. The same day I stumbled upon this stat, I was watching a video of her and a bunch of other brilliant women speaking at the Women’s Funding Network conference. At the conference, Zehner encouraged women to “talk with their purses.”

Let’s spend more time talking about women’s economic potential and what vital economic actors women are.