Cohen analysis shows mutual dependence in two-earner families
Stephanie Coontz, Director of Research at the Council on Contemporary Families, reviews Rebecca Trister's book Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger in the Winter 2019 issue of the The American Prospect. In it, she draws on research by Faculty Associate Philip Cohen to contest the assertion that certain married women are incentivized to protect white male power. "Perhaps this is true for many among the top 10 percent of the population," she writes, noting Cohen's finding that among the richest 10 percent of couples, 32 percent of wives are wholly dependent on their husbands’ incomes.
But, she notes, the story changes for two-earner families: Among couples whose household income is $80,000 to $129,000, 45 percent of wives earn 40 percent or more of the family income. Among households earning $47,000 to $79,999, 41 percent of wives earn 40 percent or more. "This mutual dependence cuts two ways. It gives high-earning women, even feminists, a direct stake in protecting institutions and policies, such as lower taxes, that favor the interests of the wealthy. And it gives many men a stake in policies and reforms that protect the earnings and working conditions of their wives and daughters," she writes.