A new Pew study says working mothers are now the primary breadwinners in 40 percent of households with children. But a closer look reveals a stark divide between two groups of working women, says Duke public policy professor Christina Gibson-Davis.
"The old stereotype about single moms was that they were sitting at home having babies and collecting welfare checks," said Gibson-Davis, faculty fellow at Duke's Center for Child and Family Policy and associate professor, Sanford School of Public Policy. "This report shows that's not true: a large proportion of single moms are out in the workforce."
The study also shows how current marriage trends perpetuate inequality, Gibson-Davis says. So-called "Breadwinner moms" are actually two different groups of people: one group consisting largely of white, highly educated married moms, the other largely minority, not as educated and unmarried, she says.
"The division in income between the two groups is quite large: $80,000 vs. $23,000," she says. "The report reflects other evidence that shows that fault line between the 'married haves' and the 'unmarried have-nots' continues to increase, with both economic and social repercussions."