Thinking that divorce initiation is likely split 50-50 between women and men? If so, you will be surprised to learn that women are those who officially end the relationships in around 70 percent of divorce cases.
This information comes from a study that looked at over 2,000 married couples. All couples in the study were heterosexual couples to keep the statistics accurate. They ranged in age from 19 years old to 94 years old. While age has been linked to divorce in the past, this study showed that all age ranges averaged out to a higher divorce initiation rate for women.
So, why does this happen? Every relationship and every case, of course, is different. However, researchers believe that outdated gender roles may play a significant part.
Essentially, more “traditional” gender roles tend to make marriage a partnership that, in terms of work and responsibility, isn’t all that equal. Women wind up doing far more of the daily chores and housework. Since women are more actively involved in the workforce than ever before, that means they’re often stressed out by this and they don’t feel like their partners are pulling their weight.
Some studies have found that having kids often creates this imbalance. A young married couple without children will often divide housework equally. When that child is born, though, women then start doing far more housework and childcare. This disproportionate division of labor may make women fairly unhappy in their marriages.
If you and your spouse are splitting up, no matter who initiated it, make sure you know all of the legal rights you have — especially if you have children.
Source: Salon, “Women divorce better than men: They’re happier, more confident and less likely to self-destruct,” Kali Holloway, accessed Jan. 30, 2018