Report: Economically, Men Benefit More from Marriage Than Women

A new report says that men are now benefiting from marriage more than women. According to the Pew Research Center report women have surpassed men in both education and earnings over the last 40 years.

"From an economic perspective, these trends have contributed to a gender role reversal in the gains from marriage," says Richard Fry and D'Vera Cohn. "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."

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The 10 Reasons He Will Not Say, I Do

Options (other women)
With so many women out there, sometimes it can be difficult to settle down. Like much of the world, women outnumber men and in the black community, the disparity is even more pronounced. Sometimes guys just want to "sow their wild oats."

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The 10 Reasons He Will Not Say, I Do

The family from hell
When expectations don't mesh between the man and the woman's family, sparks can fly creating disastrous situations.

The 10 Reasons He Will Not Say, I Do

Financial issues
Money can play a large role in a relationship as two people start sharing their income. When you realize that the girl of your dreams can't keep a hold of her pocket book and she's dragging you down in the process, it becomes hard to imagine a future together.

The 10 Reasons He Will Not Say, I Do

Insecurity/trust
Sometimes relationships can have trust issues and it makes it impossible to whole-heartedly be with someone, knowing the may lie or have cheated. The idea of his future wife with someone else can haunt a man.

The 10 Reasons He Will Not Say, I Do

Change in lifestyle
There are certain guys who don't want to get married simply because they like their care-free lifestyle. They don't want to compromise, they avoid responsibility and they cling to their personal space. For these men, a woman has to be pretty convincing in order to change their ways.

The 10 Reasons He Will Not Say, I Do

She already has kids
For some men, when a woman has children already, there may be a feeling that the they will never be his. They may turn away from raising another man's offspring for the sheer fact that she still has that connection to the children's father.

The 10 Reasons He Will Not Say, I Do

Geography
She may want to live in one area while he wants to live in another. He may get a job out of town that could be full of possibilities and she may be on the fast track in her own field. Simple things like geography can be a relationship killer for men when compromise is out of the question.

The 10 Reasons He Will Not Say, I Do

Social class or status
Your girl may have more money than you. Plain and simple, it can be difficult for some men to maintain relationships knowing that they aren't the primary breadwinners. This can create insecurity and actually work to emasculate some men as they may be constantly reminded by their situation or even their girl that she does in fact make more than him.

The 10 Reasons He Will Not Say, I Do

They may not be the right person
A relationship can sputter and yet reluctantly continue despite a bevy of problems and when the idea of marriage comes up, those flaws may become painfully apparent.

The 10 Reasons He Will Not Say, I Do

Divorce/Parents Never Married
Children learn what they see and if they have no role models to emulate, or if their parents weren't married, it may not be normal to them. Some men may have seen their parents go through a nasty divorce and consciously or unconsciously may fear marriage and the pain it may cause.

The 10 Reasons He Will Not Say, I Do

The report states that the growth in male economic benefits is derived from tremendous growth in the number of women in the workforce. This year is significant since, for the first time, women will outnumber men in the workplace. What is also interesting is that women who choose not have children earn pay on par with their male counterparts.

What is problematic, however, is that corporate America has still not fully embraced the idea of supporting the growth of families in the workplace. Most differentials in pay between men and women occur when women decide to leave the workplace for a significant period of time as a result of child birth. The fact that our government does not encourage corporations to provide paid maternity leave causes women to lose their professional standing during any prolonged absence.

One important measure used in the study was median household income for married and unmarried men between 1970 and 2007. For married men, the amount rose by 60 percent. For unmarried men, there was only 16 percent growth.

One thing the study did not quantify is whether or not marriage is a good decision for single people. Given the high financial and emotional cost of divorce, marriage is ultimately an investment and with all investments, there is risk. But the study does make clear that the presence of women in the workplace has been economically beneficial to the American family.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

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