The thought process of female breadwinners

A new study has given a snapshot of female breadwinners' thoughts, feelings and experiences.

Rebecca Meisenbach from the University of Missouri in Columbia, USA asked 15 women between 23 and 60 years to talk about and describe how they experience being the breadwinner.

She said control, independence, ambition, pressure, worry, guilt and resentment are all experienced by female breadwinners.

They enjoyed having the power of control and independence, which all women valued as part of their identities.

They are also manifested by goal-setting and a strong drive to achieve.

However, women also face the cultural expectation of taking care of children, even when they are working.

Female breadwinners also have to deal with guilt and resentment as they struggle with societal and personal expectations of themselves and their partners

Meisenbach says on an individual level, knowing these essential experiences of female breadwinners may help women create and manage their own identities

"The female breadwinner is an increasingly important and common role in contemporary society, one that impacts family relationships, individual identities, and organizational policies," she added.

The study is published online in Springer's journal Sex Roles.