Married men are biggest earners. What’s new?

A new study by Pew Research Center has come out, saying that the “biggest gainers were married college-educated men” in terms of income. Was that supposed to surprise me? Married college-educated men have generally always been the highest earners.

However, the study is saying that the reason these men are the biggest earners is because more women are receiving higher earnings. The study did a comparison with earnings in 1970, and said this:

“In the past, when relatively few wives worked, marriage enhanced the economic status of women more than that of men. In recent decades, however, the economic gains associated with marriage have been greater for men.”

Call me crazy, but I think marriage has always been good for economic status for men. For some reason, employers really love it when men settle down, buy a house, start a family, etc. These men work up the company ladder. They get the promotions. They receive more income.

However, it’s opposite for women. Once women are married, employers will automatically go into this “Oh crap, she’s going to have all these responsibilities now and maybe have kids! Ack!” mode. Married women somehow become unreliable and the expectation is that they’ll be spending more time in the home, and maybe care less about work. It’s ridiculous.

Just another double standard in our oh-so-wonderful society.