Describes how working wives' contributions to their families' income vary by characteristics such as number of weeks they work annually, their husbands' earner status, and the presence and age of children in the family. (Author)

As married women have become increasingly likely to work in recent decades, their contributions to family earnings have grown as well. In 20% to 25% of dual-earner couples, wives earn more than their husbands. These trends may have affected family decision making, giving some women more input into family financial and career decisions. (Author)

Deals with White, Black, and Hispanic married-couple families, highlighting their current work-income profiles and exploring some of the major differences. (JOW)

A survey on work experience of the population shows that the median income of families with an unemployed member was 21 percent lower than that of families without unemployment. (Author)

Focusing on dual-earner families, this study found that most working wives hold full-time jobs, are younger on average, better educated, and less likely to have preschool children than are wives who are not employed. An annotated bibliography on dual-career families is appended. (LRA)