Living Without Spouse

More American women are living without a husband than with one. In 2005, 51 per cent of women said they were living without a spouse, up from 35 per cent in 1950 and 49 per cent in 2000.

Coupled with the fact that in 2005, married couples became a minority of all American households for the first time, the trend could ultimately shape social and workplace policies, including the ways the government and employers distribute benefits. At one end of the age spectrum, women are marrying later or living with unmarried partners more often and for longer periods. At the other end, women are living longer as widows and, after a divorce, are more likely than men to delay remarriage, sometimes delighting in their new-found freedom. In addition, marriage rates among black women remain low. Only about 30 per cent of black women are living with a spouse, compared with about 49 per cent of Hispanic women, 55 per cent of non-Hispanic White women and more than 60 per cent of Asian women.

"Most of these women will marry or have married. But on average, Americans now spend 50 per cent of their adult lives outside marriage," research team leader Dr (Ms) Stephaine Coontz, director of Public Education for the Council of Contemporary Families, told reporters recently.