More families relying on working wives

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) - More families are relying on the wives’ and mothers' paychecks. 

They're calling it a consequence of the recession.  University of New Hampshire researchers say more families continue to struggle to make ends meet and are relying on the incomes of working wives.

“It's happened to my family, my husband is a builder, I'm a hairdresser and he lost work, there was no work for him,” said Colleen Bolger of Hanover. 

Bolger's story is shared by millions of women.  A recent Carsey Institute study found that from 2007 to 2009 more working married women contributed close to half of total family earnings.

“I was working my full time job hairdressing and then I picked up extra hours at a boutique just to make ends meet and it was a really hard time.  We were really nervous we were going to loose our house,” said Bolger in Northampton on Tuesday.

Researchers trace the trend to job losses across several sectors, including construction and manufacturing.  But Annette Cycon of Motherwoman , a Hadley support group, says employment policies also have a lot to do with it. 

“We're the only developed country in the world that does not offer any guarantee maternity leave. In Afghanistan, there's 100% maternity leave for 90 days for a working woman,” said Cycon inside her Russell Street office.

And that puts into question paycheck fairness as working mothers also make less than their male counterparts.  Cycon says it's a dynamic that shifts gender roles and adds a level of stress to the relationship.

“Without flexible work options, without earned paid sick time, these kinds of situations continue to increase the stress for working families. And keep families in a cycle of low paying hourly jobs,” Cycon said. 

The study says family poverty rates have also gone up, to the highest level recorded in the past fifteen years.