Female breadwinners are leading at home and in the workplace — and there are more of them than ever

In an increasing number of American households, the role of primary breadwinner is going to the female partner.

Men still bear that title in a majority of marriages, according to the Pew Research Center. But the share is declining and many families are inching closer to a state of parity where the husband and wife each earn between 40% and 60% of the household income.

“I think when women take on more financial responsibilities that it does impact the household in other ways,” said Jamila Souffrant, a personal finance educator, writer, and podcaster. “As women, as breadwinners, we need to decide or understand what it is we’re willing to give up so we can get our time back, our energy back and so we can do more with our family or with our finances.”

Souffrant worked in a corporate job until deciding to strike out on her own as an entrepreneur. She created a blog, “Journey to Launch,” about striving for financial independence. It became a podcast and ultimately her career as a financial educator.

She had a captive audience: her own three children.

“Children, it’s so important for them to see their mothers, the women in their household working or at least appreciating the work they do,” she said. “Sometimes my kids think — or used to think — I didn’t work because I had the flexibility to be at home because I was an entrepreneur.”

The shift in roles can and should be empowering, Souffrant said.

“For us as breadwinners, or if you’re even making as much as you’re partner or less, I believe that we should have an equal say. We should understand and be a part of the decision-making process,” she said. “And so that means asking questions, getting access to the accounts, not just relying on … your husband to do all the work for you.

“It’s so important that we have that say, that we are inputting our decisions and our thoughts because we are as a whole community in our household and we are leading it together with our spouse.”

You can find our Breaking Barriers: Women’s Financial Freedom Panel here or watch on your preferred streaming service.