Dual-Income
A dual-income family consists of a husband and wife who both have careers.
The concept of a wage-earning husband and a wife who stays at home has largely given way to the dual-income household. Among married people between ages 25 and 34, 96 % of the men and 69% of the women were in the labor force in 2007 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2008).
Why has there been such a rise in the number of dual-income couples?
Two major factors are economic need and a desire by both men and women to pursue their careers. Evidence of this trend can be found in a rise in the number of married couples living apart for reasons other than marital discord.
The 3.6 million couples who now live apart represent 1 out of every 33 marriages. More than half of them live farther than 100 miles apart, and half of those live 1,000 or more miles apart.
Of course, couples living apart are nothing new; men have worked at transient jobs for generations as soldiers, truck drivers, or traveling salesmen. Now, however, the woman's job is often the one that creates the separation. The existence of such household arrangements reflects an acceptance of the egalitarian family type.
