Who Initiates Divorce More Often? Men or Women?

There were over 2 million marriages across the United States in 2016. There were also over 800,000 divorces in 2016. Divorces happen all across the country for a variety of different reasons. Each couple has their own issues, which may lead to one person feeling the need to file for divorce. Overwhelmingly, the woman in the relationship is the one who files for divorce. In a study done by sociologist Michael Rosenfeld at Stanford University, it was found that 69% of divorces were initiated by women.

Reasons

Why would women be the first to file for divorce in so many cases? Some of the possible reasons are listed below:

• Women may be more attuned to relationship difficulties. If a woman feels there is a problem with a relationship that a man does not notice, they would be more likely to file for divorce. Even if a man does know there is an issue, he may have a different opinion about how much of an issue it is, which can lead to the woman feeling the issue will never be fixed.
• Women may feel they have a lack of power in the relationship. If they feel they do not have any power in a relationship, such as the power to address what they feel is a problem, they may want out of the marriage to get their power back. Many couples will argue about the same issues repeatedly, and if the woman feels she is not making any progress or nothing changes, she may feel like she is powerless in the relationship and decide to end it.
• Marriage is an institution which traditionally reinforces gender roles, which may not be what the woman wants. For example, the act of the wife taking the husband’s surname after marriage, or the traditional role of housework and childcare being taken care of by the woman in a marriage. The marriage and a woman’s role in it could lead to her feeling that she was being taken for granted. Marriage often reinforces these norms, even though they are not necessarily the same as they were in the past. If that is not what a woman wants in a relationship, they may be more likely to petition for divorce.

Contact Our Experienced DuPage County Divorce Lawyers

If you need assistance throughout the divorce process and would like more information, contact our experienced DuPage County divorce lawyers at Mevorah & Giglio Law Offices for a free initial consultation today.

Sources:

https://web.stanford.edu/~mrosenfe/Rosenfeld_gender_of_breakup.pdf

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/marriage-divorce.htm