Yesterday we discussed the unemployment rates of men and women, and how men are unemployed at a larger number than women are.

Today, we’re going to discuss how for the first time in American history, women are actually making more than men.

It’s true.  Yes, we know that women on average make less than men per hour for the same job, in fact, a recent study said that women in Maryland earned 83 cents on the dollar as compared to their male counterparts. [ Source ]  In fact, according to the study, “Using 2010 census data as well as 2011 figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the National Partnership analysis estimated that if the yearly gap between Maryland men’s and women’s median pay disappeared — a difference of $9,842 — working women could funnel that income into living expenses equaling 1.7 years worth of groceries, more than 2,400 gallons of gas or five months’ worth of mortgage and utility payments.”

However, that ship is turning around in two different ways.  Recent studies have shown in the biggest cities in America –  unmarried, childless women under 30 are on average earning 8% more than men for the same jobs.  ”But the new study suggests that the gap is bigger than previously thought, with young women in New York City, Los Angeles and San Diego making 17%, 12% and 15% more than their male peers, respectively. And it also holds true even in reasonably small areas like the Raleigh-Durham region and Charlotte in North Carolina (both 14% more), and Jacksonville, Fla. (6%).”  [ Source ]  (It should be noted that women who are married, or with child even of the same age are still under earning.)

A large part of this is because some of the top earning jobs are jobs that women are excelling at because of differences between the genders.  For example, sales positions, advertising positions, and legal typically earn women more than men because women are perceived to have a closer attention to detail by recruiters than their male counterparts.  [ Source ]  Also, interestingly enough, because clerical jobs are commonly held by women you would think that the rare man in the field would make more.   “However, in the case of clerical positions, women can make up to 28 percent more than men would.  As most people trust the detail and accuracy that is perceived to come from a female who functions in a clerical job, companies will offer more competitive salaries to women.”

The second factor contributing to this is that, we as women are employed more than our male counterparts.  We work more hours than they do, and that has made it so that for the time in American history, the gross amount of dollars earned by women is higher than the gross amount of dollars earned by men.  When you put that all together, it is not such a surprise that 1/3 of women are now earning more than their husbands.  [ Source ]   For the first time in American history – women ARE the breadwinners of the family.

It is interesting to note that just because men are not bread winners though, does not mean they have picked up their household duties.  A recent survey shows that only 3 per cent of married women spend fewer than three hours a week on housework, with almost half doing 13 hours or more.  [ Source ]  In addition, women who earn more than their husbands actually end up doing significantly more around the house than their male counterparts.  [ Source ] So when you think about it that way, most women are actually working 40 hours a week, and adding an additional 13 hours on top of that of housework – be it cooking, cleaning and / or doing the laundry.   That doesn’t even include the amount of time spent on child care – which I suspect would raise the numbers even higher.

It should be noted I’m not sure how single parent families are counted in this study – so a woman who is a single parent does 100% of the household chores, but a woman who has a husband who might only do 75%?  However, this begs the question – if women are doing most of the housework still, and women are making more than more than men because they are working more hours, what exactly are the men in their life doing?  According a recent international survey, men spend more time watching TV, hanging out with their friends at bars, playing sports and pursuing hobbies than their female counterparts — particularly in wealthy countries like Britain, France, Italy and America.

Is this women’s fault though?  While speaking with some coworkers on the issue at hand, many of the guys claimed that their women (or women they know) play up the role of Susie Homemaker to snag a guy, but then complain when the guy doesn’t take more responsibility.   They consider this a change of terms in the original relationship agreement and a “dirty little trick”.  It was talked about the idea of “sex mom’s” or “sex maid’s” as something that women perceive guys want – but that is not necessarily the case.

What say you internet?