Female Professionals and Divorce

Women

A) Robin Fretwell Wilson, Professor of Law at Washington & Lee University, analyzed data on new professionals in business, law and medicine (part of a National Science Foundation Survey of 100,000 professionals); found that:

1) women with MBAs (12%) were twice as likely to divorce or separate as their male counterparts (5%). Large number of professionals, especially women, remain in the workplace, "opt out" of having families;

2) women with law (10%) or medicine (9%) degrees divorced less often than those with bachelor's degrees but were still more likely to divorce than male counterparts (7% of male lawyers, 5.1% of male doctors).

B) Sylvia Ann Hewlett, economist and founding president of the Center for Work-Life Policy, conducted a 2001 study of high-achieving women (high earners, graduate degrees). Found the more women earned, more likely they would be single and without children.