The Atlantic

How Men’s Economic Struggles Can Look Like Good News for Women

When actually everyone is having a hard time
Source: Yuya Shino / Reuters

Over the last three decades, the relative economic positions of men and women have shifted dramatically. Wives now make more money than their husbands in a third of U.S. homes; women are also more likely to have jobs, and keep them during recessions. Men, meanwhile, have on average seen their wages and employability sink.

Earlier this month, a long-running study on income inequality that made men look even worse off.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic4 min read
KitchenAid Did It Right 87 Years Ago
My KitchenAid stand mixer is older than I am. My dad bought the white-enameled machine 35 years ago, during a brief first marriage. The bits of batter crusted into its cracks could be from the pasta I made yesterday or from the bread he made then. I
The Atlantic17 min read
How America Became Addicted to Therapy
A few months ago, as I was absent-mindedly mending a pillow, I thought, I should quit therapy. Then I quickly suppressed the heresy. Among many people I know, therapy is like regular exercise or taking vitamin D: something a sensible person does rout
The Atlantic5 min read
The Strangest Job in the World
This is an edition of the Books Briefing, our editors’ weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for it here. The role of first lady couldn’t be stranger. You attain the position almost by accident, simply by virtue of being married to the president

Related Books & Audiobooks