Too little help with housework, no career support and poor communication are among the reasons why women in Virginia may be more likely than men to initiate a divorce. The American Sociological Association found in a 2015 study that almost 70% of divorces were initiated by women.
For many women, marriage simply offers too few benefits. Wives are less dependent on men for financial security than in previous generations, so they are more likely to seek divorce from men who are unfaithful or abusive. Men are generally reliant on their wives for emotional support while the reverse is often not the case as women tend to seek emotional support from a number of different sources.
Women may feel that they get little support in other areas of their lives as well. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that women still do more housework than men even when they work outside the home with almost half of all women reporting that they do household chores daily compared to just 20% of men. A significant number of men reported that when their wives began to make more money than them, they felt “psychological distress.” Overall, women may just expect more of marriage. A 2017 study in the United Kingdom found that more same-sex divorces were between women than men.
How much money each person makes and how much time each parent spends on child care may both be factors in the divorce. A higher-paying spouse may be required to pay support to a lower-paying spouse. If there is a custody dispute, custody might be awarded to the parent who can demonstrate spending the most time with the child. However, not every divorce ends up in litigation. Couples may able to negotiate an agreement outside of court about property division, child custody and support.
