Study shows women are breadwinners in growing share of U.S. families

Mirroring a trend a local leader said is happening right here in Iowa, data released by the Pew Research Center on Wednesday shows women are the breadwinners in an increasing number of U.S. families.

The Pew study, titled "Breadwinner Moms," shows that mothers are the sole or primary provider in four in ten households with children, according to a Pew analysis of data from the U.S. Census.

Forty percent of all households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for the family, according to Pew's analysis.

Iowa's number of households with women as the sole or primary source of income are reflective of the overall trend in the country, said Diane Ramsey, executive director of the Iowa Women's Leadership Conference. The 501(3)c serves to advance women's leadership in part through conferences and by serving as a resource throughout the state for convening discussions, Ramsey said.

"We are seeing that women, because of the changes that we're seeing in terms of educational attainment, that there are more women who have higher earning potential and can out earn their husbands and I expect that that trend will continue," she said. "Especially at the trajectory that we're seeing of women who are completing college and then are also earning advanced degrees relative to men."

According to the data, the "breadwinner moms" include two distinct groups: 5.1 million, or 37 percent, are married mothers who have a higher income than their husbands and 8.6 million, or 63 percent, who are single mothers.

"We do have a preponderance of women in single families with children, the majority of them are women, unfortunately many of them are living in poverty as well," Ramsey said.

Pew found that women make up almost half, or 47 percent, of the U.S. labor force today, and the employment rate of married mothers with children has increased from 37 percent in 1968 to 65 percent in 2011.

The Iowa Women's Leadership Project compiled information as part of its 2012 She Matters report. The report found that Iowa women's median income is 21 percent less than the median income of Iowa men.

"If more women than men are the primary breadwinners by the next generation, this gap will mean lost revenues and opportunities statewide," the Leadership Project report states.

Ramsey said the report also revealed other benefits to employing women.

"One of the things that is an interesting statistic about women is that when women are employed, a greater percentage of their income is devoted back into their family vs. men," she said. "So that when working women have an opportunity to get out of the home and work, it improves the overall community, the dollars stay in the community and they are reinvested."