Hyejin Yu, assistant professor at NEOMA Business School, is one of three researchers who has carried out an analysis of heterosexual couples in Australia over more than 20 years. The team’s main finding is that income disparity stalls women’s careers… even when they earn more than their partners.

The women in question were technical specialists, senior executives or business owners, all earning good salaries and taking home even more than their husbands. Yet these women regularly turn down promotions, pass up better-paid positions and decline challenging assignments. As a result, their careers stagnate while their male partners rise steadily through the ranks. This is the striking conclusion of a large-scale study of 7,252 heterosexual couples in Australia over more than two decades, led jointly by Hyejin Yu, assistant professor in the People & Organisations Department at NEOMA Business School.

It has long been common knowledge that women, on average, earn less than their male partners — an imbalance that frequently acts as a barrier to their career progression. Responsibilities such as finding childcare, handling paperwork and managing domestic tasks (or even moving house for their partner’s job) mean that many women agree to scale back their career ambitions to ensure that the household maximises its income. This extensive study, however, shows that this line of reasoning does not fully explain the facts: otherwise, the roles would be reversed along with salary levels. And yet, women who earn more than their husbands are still put at a disadvantage, just like women on lower incomes. Only couples with equivalent salaries break the pattern.

A symbolic threat to male identity

In overall terms, women shoulder a greater share of domestic duties (such as cooking, cleaning and doing the laundry) when there are disparities in income. While traditional logic prevails when the man is the primary earner, the study reveals that a different mechanism is triggered when the roles are reversed: the male partner feels threatened, and his masculinity and ability to provide for the household are thrown into question. In this situation, the female partner tends to sense her spouse’s unease: consciously or not, she makes an effort to reassure and protect him, often by taking on the traditional role of the “perfect housewife”. Despite juggling taxing, time-consuming jobs, these women end up compelled to put in a gruelling double shift, eventually leading to professional disengagement.

To explain this phenomenon, the study draws on an extensive dataset and what sociologists call “gender construction theory”. In many societies, individuals are assigned traditional roles based on gender: men almost always have the role of breadwinner, while women are typically responsible for the day-to-day management of the household. Departing from these stereotypes creates disharmony in the relationship, which is often felt to be inappropriate, disrespectful or even threatening, usually to the masculine identity, which is inherently privileged. To restore a symbolic balance, some “transgressive” women are inclined to overplay other gender stereotypes: they take on more household chores, for example, or identify as devoted mothers rather than heads of the family. This mechanism, which is usually unconscious, is instrumental in steering these women away from good careers.

Equality breeds equality

The influence of gender stereotypes is even more pronounced given that men experience virtually no comparable effects. Irrespective of whether they earn more or less than their female partner, their prospects of promotion remain the same, and their career trajectories are largely unaffected. In other words, the burden of “domestic compensation” falls on women alone.

There is, however, one scenario where this tendency to “construct gender” tapers off: when couples have relatively equal incomes. The study underlines that women have the best chance of progressing in their careers in this scenario. There is less symbolic friction within the home, less domestic “compensation” and a more balanced division of household chores.

And yet, not all “egalitarian” couples are in the same boat. The overall level of household income also shapes behaviour. When spouses belong to the middle or upper class, the male partner takes on a greater share of the household tasks. In particular, they are more willing to perform roles perceived as feminine (such as cooking and cleaning) without seeing them as a threat to their masculinity. However, in households with low but balanced incomes, men take on fewer household chores. They feel a greater need to fulfil the role of economic provider so they can continue to be seen as “real men” in their own eyes and those of their peers. Likewise, women in these households carry on shouldering a significant share of domestic tasks, even when they make a substantial contribution to the household income. In other words, income gaps reinforce inequalities in domestic tasks, creating a cycle that stalls women’s careers in a chain of events that does not affect men.

Shall we talk about it?

The study shows that equal opportunities at work are still a distant ideal. While inequalities have narrowed in recent years, progress continues to be sluggish, shaped in particular by the way couples balance their professional and family lives. The researchers conclude their paper with a number of recommendations: for couples, the priority is… communication! Talking openly and concretely about day-to-day tasks, the allocation of roles, and what each person wants and expects from their work — these are crucial first steps in recognising gender dynamics and the importance of stereotypes. The study notes that in households with more elevated incomes, hiring domestic help (to do the housework, for instance) can help create more balanced career paths.

Good will alone, however, is not enough. Couples are also affected by economic and social dynamics that are beyond their control. Accordingly, the study also calls for political measures: introducing truly equitable parental leave, for example, and establishing greater salary transparency at work. Although shifting the way people think will not happen overnight, it is a sine qua non if women are to thrive professionally on an equal footing with men.

Find out more

Hyejin (Elise) Yu, Alexis Nicole Smith and Nikolaos Dimotakis, Dollars and Domestic Duties: A 22-Year Study of Income, Home Labor, and Gendered Career Outcomes in Dual-Earner Couples, Journal of Organizational Behavior, March 2025. DOI: 10.1002/job.2879