Relative Income in a Partnership and Satisfaction: The Role of Gender Role Attitudes and Housework Division

Magdalena Grabowska , University of Warsaw

This study examines how relative income within couples relates to overall life satisfaction and satisfaction with a partner, focusing on the moderating roles of gender role attitudes and the division of unpaid labor. Using longitudinal panel data collected annually between 2021 and 2024 from Polish respondents participating in the FAMILYDEMIC project, the analyses include 1,559 partnered women and 1,166 partnered men. Panel regression models with random effects are estimated separately for men and women. Drawing on theories of gender norms and social comparison, we hypothesize that both men and women experience higher life satisfaction when they outearn their partner, but that women’s satisfaction with their partner decreases when they earn more than their male partner. Furthermore, we expect these effects to be stronger among individuals with traditional gender role attitudes and in households where women perform a greater share of unpaid labor. Preliminary results indicate that relative income matters primarily for men’s overall life satisfaction. Men who outearn their female partners report higher life satisfaction, whereas those whose partners earn more report lower levels. For women, outearning their partners is associated with lower satisfaction with a partner. These patterns appear to be linked to traditional gender norms and potentially to unequal divisions of unpaid work.

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 Presented in Session 71. Domestic Labour and Partnership Satisfaction