Survey says married men
earn more than bachelors
By Anna Herkamp
Summer
Reporter
Income for men in married relationships is not
the same for those who are not married.
Purdue researchers in the School of Management
have recently analyzed the results of the 1990 United States Census,
and compared the income levels between married men, single men and gay
men.
How did they know who was homosexual and who was
heterosexual?
One thing that set the 1990 United States Census
apart from all previous Censuses was that for the first time, it made
the distinction between roommates and "unmarried partners."
If both male members of a household checked 'unmarried
partner,' Michelle Arthur, assistant professor of management, and co-author
Sylvia Allegretto, doctoral student in the University of Colorado, put
them into an unmarried gay category.
Other categories included married straight men
and single straight men in relationships.
The study found that single heterosexual men made
2.4 percent more than single homosexual men. Unmarried men in general
made 14.1 percent less than their married counterparts, said Arthur.
Because the study controlled for factors including
age, race, profession and education level, there is a clear discrimination
between married men and single men, said Liz Graurholtz, professor of
sociology.
In a recent press release, Arthur said, "We have
a society that rewards marriage disproportionately. There's actually
a marriage premium by employers who reward what is perceived as family
stability and the responsibility that underlies it."
Graurholtz said there is a stigma attached to a
married man. Possible reasons may be that an employer sees a married
man as more likely to stay with a company because of the possibility
he may have a family in the near future.
For single men, employers may think that they won't
have as much of a commitment to the company because they aren't "breadwinners,"
she said.
Though the study's findings indicate separation
between single and married men, Graurholtz said it is probably an unconscious
process.
Some people might also say that married men simply
work harder for their families, she said.
For women, it seems the exact opposite.
Arthur said women weren't included in this study,
but she is working on a project that will focus on married and unmarried
women's incomes.
In the past it has been found that married women
are the ones penalized in the workplace and single women have larger
salaries, said Arthur.
Possible reasons for this discrimination could
be that employers perceive married women as more likely to leave the
workplace because they have children; thus family life takes over their
careers, she said.
Asked why she thought the 1990 census was the first
time the country decided to seek out this type of information, Arthur
said she guessed that the idea of a "typical family" has changed in
recent decades.
For instance, she said there is more press about
single moms, therefore, the traditional family structure isn't what
it used to be.
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