Career hierarchy in dual-earner families

Abstract

Recent evidence indicates that dual-earner families are increasing and that spouses' roles may be changing. In light of these changes, this study asks the following question: how might career hierarchy in the family, that is, one spouse's job or career taking precedence over the other's, affect wage outcomes? Previous research by social scientists has considered related topics, but not the relationship between career hierarchy and wages per se. Using information on spouses' earnings and family attitudes about career roles from the National Survey of Families and Households, this study: (1) describes the likely pattern of career hierarchy among full-time, full-year, dual-earner couples, and (2) takes a first step toward assessing the effect of career hierarchy on wage outcomes. The results provide some evidence that wives who have the secondary career in their family tend to have lower wages than those who have the primary career. Results for husbands are inconclusive.

Citation

Winkler, A.E. and Rose, D.C. (2000), "Career hierarchy in dual-earner families", Research in Labor Economics (Research in Labor Economics, Vol. 19), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 147-172. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-9121(00)19007-7