Moms and Dads Sharing the Load More

My, how times have changed.  Some recent statistics released by California First Lady Maria Shriver and  the Center for American Progress document how much they have changed.  In 1975, the only employed member of families was the father in 44.7 percent of families.  In 31.1% of families, both parents worked.  And at that point in time, only 3% of families with married couples had only the wife working.

Today, only 20.7% of families have only the father working; 43.5% of families have both spouses working, and now 3.8% of married couples have only the wife working.

I can remember a few years ago when I was working with former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt, his staff had done some research on families in Utah.  His family model, which was the traditional one (married couple with multiple children and only the husband employed) constituted less than 20% of Utah households.

One of the conclusions of the Shriver report is that not only are couples sharing in providing income for the family, but they are sharing in other family duties as well.  Read more about this new report on the changing role of fathers and see how your family situation stacks up with the statistics.