Hello….My Name is Money.

Female breadwinners have become an enticing topic lately in the news and in various streams of media. Statistics are tossed around from various research firms, each percentage more shocking than the next regarding how many women are out-earning their men. One study shows that 40% of working women are the primary earners in their households. Another study reveals that young women make 141% of the salaries of their male counterparts in some urban cities. But one set of statistics in particular caught my attention in a recent article put forth by the University of Chicago.

The article is based on a recent research paper from an assistant professor at Chicago Booth School of Business. The paper revealed that ‘among adults aged 25 to 39, marriage rates have declined from about 81 percent in 1970 to 51 percent in 2010.’ A large percentage of that decline, according to the author, was thought to result from men’s aversion to a wife earning more than he. While I do not agree whole-heartedly with the author’s line of reasoning, the concept was intriguing enough to give pause for thought.

As women, there are many aspects of our personalities that men find important when choosing a suitable mate. He may look for a woman who is kind, attractive, nurturing, fun, and dedicated. He may steer clear from a woman who is too frumpy, cold, over-bearing, or self-absorbed. But the millennium appears to be ushering in a new characteristic by which women are judged when it comes to dating- MONEY.
Men are accustomed to being judged by their money-what they have now or what they will have in the future. I am not condoning money as a yardstick by which to measure a man, but it’s a reality in dating culture that has stood the test of time. But it seems that we women are starting to get a taste of our own medicine. Have we reached an age when a woman’s money is becoming a part of her identity- acting as another character trait that she puts forth to the world? Has money become a part of a woman’s persona in the dating world?

As society continues to adjust to the rise of the female breadwinner, aspects of our dating culture are changing accordingly. While it is unlikely that the reversal in income potential within couples is the sole cause for the decline in marriage rates, we must consider that it is at least a viable contributor.  Contrary to the desirable implications of money on a man’s persona; for the weaker sex, a successful career and money may not always be viewed as a positive. For a less secure man, such traits can be a drawback-particularly if he feels that he can never measure up. The single dating woman of the millennium must toe the line, never knowing when her success will be welcomed or when it will be rebuked. Despite her best efforts, men may be judging her by a characteristic that feels superficial and irrational-money. When the successful woman introduces herself at the next single’s mixer, some men may only hear, “hello….my name is money.”