Divorce in the United States is especially devastating to women and children because it contributes to the feminization of poverty. Divorce is an issue that is currently being addressed by various political leaders who see a high divorce rate as evidence of social decay, and there are efforts under way to make divorce more difficult by returning the emphasis to fault. Marriages are subject to a number of divisive forces, from external pressures such as job loss, illness, infertility, and the need to care for aging parents. Some marriages survive, while others do not. People also have habits and attitudes which may be divisive and which they may not be able to overcome in marriage. Divorce tends to be harder on women than men because men are more likely to have careers and jobs while the women are more likely to be dependent; in addition, women who do or can work but who have children are then faced with the difficulty of working and caring for their children at the same time. Often, child support is not sufficient for this purpose, may not provide for child care, or may be non-existent because of spouses who refuse to pay.
The feminization of poverty has been noted by sociologists and has been related to the divorce rate. Researchers note that a complex set of circumstances is involved in the feminization of poverty. Women are increasingly a part of the overall labor force, but much of the work done by women is unpaid. Women also hold a lower position in the labor market, earning lower wages. One reason for this is the nature of the dual role that women have assumed in industrialized societies:
Because they have continued to perform unpaid domestic work in the home. . . women have not been able to participate in work outside the home on an equal footing with men (Goldberg and Kremen 3).
Women have assumed a dual role in the U.S. almost without it being noted, and they have done so by combining work outside the home w...