Because the women are getting upset:
When she first heard the news, "there was a sinking in the pit of my stomach — and tears," she says. "It was just devastating. It's completely outside your power, and now you're responsible for the entire family," says Janosek, who like many wives who work, brought in roughly one-third of the family's income but is now the principal breadwinner. "You worry about losing everything. It's just overwhelmingly scary — and there are no resources for spouses." Janosek was able to increase her work hours, and her husband now has some contract work, which has helped — but it hardly solves the problem. "I am still angry about it," she says.
The poor dear, wilting so in the cold, hard light of reality, smacked in the face by the cudgel of equality.
I think it's fair to say Mz. Janosek is folding like so much cheap laundry in the face of minor adversity.
And, of course, it's the husband's fault for putting her in that position in the first place.
The bastard.
But she's not alone:
So are many other women — wives of the 4.2 million men who have been laid off since the recession began. In fact, according to recent data, it is likely that more than 2 million American women are married to someone who has been handed a pink slip during this recession. Compare that to the approximately 1.4 million women who have lost a job, and it appears that the majority of women may be experiencing our Great Recession's mass job losses not as a laid-off worker but as the spouse of one. And while a lot of attention has been paid to those who have lost their job — some 75% of whom have been men — the impact of these losses on spouses has been largely ignored.
Yes, I know, times are tough out there champ, but I had no idea until I read this article just how awful it's getting:
[T]hey serve as a daily reminder of the new financial stress families face after the pink slip arrives. Family vacations are put on hold, kids' summer camps and sports programs are eliminated, air-conditioning is used less, movies and even cable are cut or reduced, new clothes and haircuts are postponed and family dinners at restaurants are increasingly reserved for special occasions.
Wait, wait, I gotta find The World's Smallest Violin, hold on, I know I left it around here somewhere...
To be sure, many of these cuts affect both the husband and wife, but women — even those who work outside the home — still take on more household responsibilities, including cooking, cleaning and taking care of children, whatever their ages.
Ah, found it.
Which means that fewer family dinners out — as well as fewer take-out orders and pizza deliveries — plus more people around the house can mean even more work for the wife. "There are more dinners, more snacks, more dishes," says Jennifer Brinkman of Austin, Texas, who cut family spending on dinners out as well as summer programs for her two school-age daughters after her husband lost his job in June. "It's just hard," she says.
I'm sure it is dear.
But at least you're not starving...
