A money and power imbalance is why dating sucks for female lawyers. Couples often fight about money, particularly if the distribution of money is uneven. Money is a proxy for power, and power imbalances lead to disagreements.
When the Woman Earns More
Because of the pay gap, most heterosexual relationships involve a higher-earning man and a lower-earning woman. But in 29% of hetero relationships, less than 1/3, the woman out-earns the man. This figure has been increasing for decades, but is still a small minority of couples. It’s unlikely, then, that either person in a couple has experience with a higher-earning mother. The newness of this type of relationship and the high likelihood that women lawyers will be involved in such a relationship can lead to growing pains.
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Societal Expectations Haven’t Changed
Many have told me, the men who are uncomfortable with your high salary aren’t right for you. But men don’t start out fearing the success of their female significant other. Instead, society constantly reinforces the idea that men should feel uncomfortable earning less.
For instance, I ran a poll last week about hetero dating where the woman earns considerably more. Only 20% of those polled thought the woman should pay for more dates than the man.
Isn’t this weird? If a man made significantly more, the majority would say he should pay more. But less than 20% think a woman should pay more when she earns a lot more.
That’s because society isn’t comfortable with a woman taking the financial lead. Even if the woman makes more, the man is still expected to support her. And society is not shy about telling a man if he is not living up to expectations.
Single, Career Women On Bucking Societal Norms
Years ago, a rumor circulated that Prince William cheated on his wife, Kate Middleton. Rumors of celebrity affairs are nothing new, but I was surprised that women were so outraged by this rumor, touting how William should be grateful that Kate would marry him.
I’m not saying cheating is acceptable, but I’m surprised at how the tides have turned for William.
Yes, Kate Middleton is incredible but Prince William was once the most eligible bachelor in the world – a handsome famous prince.
When he was single, it was “who’s the lucky lady going to be?” Now that he is married, it’s “You should be grateful!” It must cause some psychological scarring to always be the lesser-than spouse, particularly when up til marriage, you had always been the prize.
When Dating Sucks for Women Breadwinners
Even if you’re a real-life handsome prince, your commoner spouse can still overshadow you, causing a status imbalance that society loves to pick apart. It almost makes sense to marry someone less-than in terms of looks or finances, in order to escape these problems. And also you might escape the many problems that female breadwinner relationships have.
When Women Earn More, Both Sides are Uncomfortable
Societal expectations have a way of infiltrating and poisoning relationships so that women’s breadwinning is associated with a lot of problems.
Lower-earning husbands are more likely to have an affair. One theory is that these husbands feel emasculated by earning less, and try to regain their social status through an affair.
Couples are typically embarrassed to be in a female breadwinner situation. When the woman earns more, both husband and wife downplay the difference, underreporting her salary and/or overreporting his. In one study, in couples where women made 80% or more of the household income, the husband or the wife or both were hesitant to call her the “breadwinner.”
When Women Earn More, The Relationships Are More Likely to Fail
Women breadwinning relationships are more likely to fail. One statistic showing this is that being nominated for the Best Actress Oscar (a sign of a woman’s success) increases the risk of divorce. In fact, any woman out-earning her husband increases the couple’s likelihood of divorce.
In relationships with women breadwinners, the spouses are less likely to work as a unit. For instance, female breadwinners are more likely to make decisions on paying bills, budgeting, saving, and investment by themselves rather than consulting with a partner. Women who outearn their husbands are more likely to make hostile comments regarding their husbands’ financial management, and “police” their husbands more to ensure that he’s not “stealing” from the couple. As you can tell, if it comes to this, the relationship is on a downward spiral.
Finally neither women nor men understand their roles in these relationships. In a “typical” higher-earning male scenario, the man brings the money, the woman takes over household responsibilities. But counterintuitively, the more financially independent a woman is, the more housework she does (and the less he does). This can lead women into wondering what utility she is getting from the marriage.
Why Dating Sucks for Women Lawyers
Let’s talk lawyers. A woman lawyer’s dating problems often revolve around money. There are three aspects that make a woman lawyer’s dating even more difficult than a typical higher-earning woman – a potentially significant income disparity, navigating new power dynamics, and the fact that everyone will know about the differences between the lawyer and her man. These discrepancies all lead to why dating sucks for female lawyers.
Dating a Female Lawyer
Anecdotally, some female lawyers have reported being rejected in the dating world for being seen as too aggressive. Plenty of people became lawyers to help people, but the stereotype is that law draws in cutthroat competitors. It’s hard for the hard-driving lawyer to compete with the fantasy of a nurturing nurse, though I’d argue that lawyers have the better outfits.
Being a Lawyer Isn’t a Bonus in the Dating World
First, some good news – in a survey of most desirable jobs for women on online dating apps, lawyers actually made the list! Number 14 so lawyers made it into the top 15! (It’s the #4 most desired job for men, fyi). Bad news – lawyers didn’t make the list a few years ago losing out to such professions as model or real estate associate. Further, a lot of the more desirable professions for women require little education (student, makeup artist, waitress) or are low-paying (teacher, journalist, physical therapist). Men don’t seem to value the high education or high-earning capacity of women.
Potentially Significant Income Discrepancy
Women lawyers often face a significant difference in income in their potential relationships. The median wife-breadwinner earns a salary of $50,000, and her husband earns a median income of $30,000. The median personal income in the U.S. is about $33,000 so this couple is a higher-earning woman and a slightly below-median-earning man.
Lawyers make a median salary of $120,910, which is a top 10% of earners salary; in other words, 90% of people will make less than this salary. Thus, if a female lawyer is dating, assuming she doesn’t self-select for men in the top 10% of earning power, she’s unlikely to date a man who makes a comparable salary to her.
As compared to a median female breadwinner, a lawyer breadwinner is likely to stay the breadwinner for the rest of her marriage. It’s much less likely that her husband will spring up to the top 10% of salaries sometime in his career than to achieve a median salary sometime in his career. Further, as opposed to a couple with median salaries, in a relationship with a female lawyer, it becomes more likely that the man’s salary is irrelevant. Women lawyers can make enough so that theoretically he could be a house husband.
How to Date a Female Lawyer: Navigating New Power Dynamics
Women lawyers likely seek men with similar educational credentials. Thus these men likely have higher than median salaries. Still, the man’s salary is unlikely to be higher than a lawyer’s. For these men, it’s likely a power reversal compared to other relationships.
For instance, many of the men I have dated earned six figures and were used to earning more in a relationship. Only 6% of American women earn six figures or more, compared to 14% of men. It’s uncommon for men to earn less than a female significant other, and probably even less likely if the man is high-income. A high-income man could easily find a woman in the 94% that would appreciate his financial contributions. And with competition like that, it can make the relationship seem quite precarious.
Everyone Knows the Disparity
As I stated earlier, couples downplay an income disparity where the woman makes more than the man. But the income differential between a woman lawyer and her male partner will be apparent to all onlookers. For most jobs, in DC, many people works for the government or a defense contractor, and people have ambiguous titles like “consultant.” No one knows if one government worker makes more than another. In contrast, lawyers maintain a stereotype of earning a lot of money. There’s not much use lying about money because people already have their preconceived notions about who earns more.
Then there is the prestige. Except for doctors and professors, other professions generally don’t require so many years of education. And like income, difference in education level is apparent, creating a disparity that is clear to onlookers.
Finally, there is the social group. Lawyers hang around other lawyers and talk about law. That means that a lawyer’s date will inevitably be around other lawyers. So not only will the parties suck (just kidding – the free alcohol makes it tolerable), but many of the people in your girlfriend/wife’s social group will be well-educated, high income, and nerdy.
Plus, lawyers aren’t exactly laid-back. They’re often gauging others for their utility and status.
Who Do Female Lawyers Marry?
I’m reading a book, The New Rules of Marriage. I’m sure you’re thinking, as I did, aren’t the rules the same? But the institution of marriage has changed dramatically and we need new tools to cope. Decades ago, when women were financially dependent on their husbands, they had no choice but to suck up any complaints about marriage. Now that women can work and support themselves, feminism has taught them to demand more.
Still, this doesn’t mean that women know how to communicate their new desires or that men have any idea how to meet them. It’s a very different relationship than what our parents may have modeled. As a society, we are still learning how this relationship will thrive, but it obviously requires patience. Couples navigating the relatively new world where a women earns more may need to learn new communication skills in order for their relationships to thrive.
What if I Made Less?
I don’t feel ashamed that I will likely date and marry a man who earns less than me. It would be a lie, however, if I said that I don’t worry at all about ill effects due to outearning my spouse.
I haven’t had a full-time job in a year, and it hasn’t affected my dating life whatsoever. Men generally don’t care if the lady they’re dating is making money. In fact, one of my exes asked if I had quit my job so that I could FINALLY date a man who made more than me. (No, but it’s an interesting joke).
Why Dating Sucked for Me as a High-Earning Lawyer
The only fight I’ve ever had about money was not about having too little, but having too much. Bob and I had been dating six months. We never disclosed our salaries but we both knew I made significantly more than him. Still, we were both earning good money and neither of us had debt.
Bob picked up the tab most of the time. By my calculations, I paid for 1/3 of the meals out. I estimated that I was paying for half our total meals (eating in and eating out) though I was spending less because cooking is cheaper than eating out even though I made some elaborate meals.
He was resentful that he was paying for a greater percentage of the meals out even though I earned more. And I was resentful because if I made less, this wouldn’t have been an issue. It wasn’t that I was contributing less – it was that more was expected from me because of my income.
Of course, perhaps I should have paid for most of the meals in and outside of the home. When I was 23 and making an entry-level salary, I dated a lawyer who paid for most of our dates and he would cook as well. Ten years later, the tables have turned. But I wasn’t ready to pay for more than half.
Conclusion – Why Dating Sucks for Female Lawyers
You can be a part of a team and still be jealous of your over-performing teammate or resentful of your underperforming one. We would like to think that bucking societal trends will lead to greater self-improvement or empathy, but for many, it can be corrosive.
When reading about personal finance, it always seems that women are dating or are married to men who make more than them, often significantly so. And I’m a little jealous.
Little girls are taught to want to be princesses, not breadwinners. That seems completely backwards, of course, but it’s the reality and it’s easier for couples to do what’s expected of them. I will admit that I had had a little dream of being Meghan Markle. But that tale is becoming less fairy tale and more cautionary by the minute.
Turns out, in my own fairytale, I’m the one on the horse. And I’m learning to be ok with that.