What if you yourself were unemployed? If you answered “no” to those questions, you’re not alone. Seventy-five percent of women wouldn’t hitch themselves to someone who was unemployed, and 65% wouldn’t tie the knot if they were jobless, according to a recent survey by YourTango and ForbesWoman.
“With the recent unemployment rate up to 9.1 percent, joblessness is an increasingly pervasive issue—especially for women as they consider the fiscal and emotional stability of their romantic future,” said Andrea Miller, founder and CEO, YourTango. “From money woes to resentment, joblessness can create great strain on relationships. Before women enter into a lifetime commitment, they want to feel secure in what their partner can bring to the table.”
Although having a job is important, more than 91 percent of single women saying they would marry for love over money.
“It is ironic that women place more weight on love than money, yet won’t marry if they or their potential suitor is unemployed,” said Meghan Casserly, Reporter, ForbesWoman. “A job can make or break the longevity of a relationship and the results of the survey demonstrate just what an important role careers play in romance.”
The Career and Love survey also found:
* Sleepless Nights: 40 percent of women in a relationship said their job responsibilities were most likely to keep them up at night, while job responsibilities and love life tied as the two factors most likely to keep single women awake.
* Money Makes the World Go ‘Round: 32 percent of women in a relationship make more money than their partner. 50 percent of women would marry someone who earned significantly less than them, while 41 percent wouldn’t marry someone who earned significantly less than them.
* Career vs. Kids: 55 percent would give up their career to take care of kids if their partner asked them to do so; only 28 percent would ask the same of their partner.
* Me Time: If women could find an extra hour in each day, 42 percent would spend it by themselves, as opposed to with their partner, friends or family or on work.
* Living the Dream: 77 percent of women believe women can simultaneously have a fulfilling relationship and family life, as well as a successful career.
Other surprising findings:
Single Women Vs Married Women
1. Married women are more likely than singletons to give up their career if their partner asked them to:
* 59 percent of married women say they would give up their career to run the household, compared with only 19 percent of single women
* 69 percent of married women would give up their career to support a partner’s career, compared with 59 percent of single women
* 58 percent of married women would give up their career to take care of kids, compared with 53 percent of single women
2. While 77 percent of women believe a woman can “have it all” (have a fulfilling relationship, family life, and successful career all at once), most aren’t living the dream: only 43 percent of women say their work/life balance is about where they want it to be; 47 percent would like to devote less time to work, and 10 percent want to spend more time at work. Surprisingly, single women are more likely to think their career interferes with their love life: 43 percent of singletons say their career negatively affects their love life, while only 36 percent of married women said the same.
Women Over 35 Vs Women Under 35
1. Older women are less willing to marry someone who makes less money than them. Forty percent of women under 35 said they wouldn’t marry someone who brought home less money; 45 percent of women over 35 said the same.
2. Older women are more likely than younger women to give up their career if their partner asked them to:
* 24 percent of women under 35 would give up their career to run the household, compared with 36 percent of women over 35
* 61 percent of women under 35 would give up their career to support a partner’s career, compared with 69 percent of women over 35
* 54 percent of women under 35 would give up their career to take care of kids, compared with 57 percent of women over 35
3. Younger women are twice as likely to care about the cachet of their partner’s career: 36 percent of women under 35 said the prestige of their partner’s career was important, vs. 18 percent of women over 35.
Women With Household Income’s over $100k/year vs. Women with HHIs Under $100k/year
1. Household income doesn’t affect a woman’s view on being a breadwinner: 41 percent of women with a HHI over $100k/year range say they would not marry a man who made more than them, compared with 42 percent of women with HHIs below $100k/year.
2. Women with lower HHIs are more likely to think a woman can “have it all:” 79 percent of women with household incomes below $100k/year believe women can have it all, while only 70 percent of those with HHIs over $100k say the same.