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Dual-Career Couples and Identity
by Erin Reid
Quick Takes
Forget “breadwinner”; a modern identity of “breadsharer” is emerging for men in heterosexual partnerships.
- Breadsharers value each partner’s right to pursue their professional and personal goals
- Breadwinners view their wives’ careers as having little value, even when their spouse’s salary is higher than their own
- Men’s careers are shaped by their interpretation of the status and value of their wives’ careers
- Breadsharers are open to possibilities for their own careers outside the pathway their firms had set for them
Professional careers are notorious for demanding that people be single-mindedly devoted to work. It’s a demand that is often especially acute for men, who face rigid ...
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