SPONSORED FEATURE
THE CHALLENGES OF DUAL-CAREER COUPLES
Dual-career couples are a fact of 21st-century life. In this abridged version of a white paper, Graebel Relocation considers how this trend is affecting global relocation and international assignments, from the perspective of both individuals and their employers.
S
ince the 1960s, the role of women has undergone a social and demographic shift.1
Between 1996 and 2006, the percentage of two-income married couples increased by 31 per cent in
the US. In 2014, 47.7 per cent of all American married couples were dual-career couples. Dual careerism is not just a cultural trend or a fad of certain
generations. In Canada, the percentage of husband-wife families that were dual earners is roughly 70 per cent, and approximately two-thirds of two-adult families in the UK have two incomes. In 2015, a reported 78 per cent of Millennials are part of a
dual-career couple, increasing the value that they place on living well-rounded personal and professional lives. All this means that it’s more important than ever to know how to balance a relationship with two careers.
Women’s new career roles Women are playing a dominant role in the dual-career
relationship. In the US, their participation in the family economy has grown incrementally over the last few decades. The percentage of women in dual-earner marriages who out-earn their husbands went from 19.2 per cent in 1990 to 23.3 per cent in 2000 to 28.1 per cent in 2011. Managing dual-career relationships involves a series of trade-offs
between career growth, professional endeavours and commitments to family and community. Couples can struggle with the trade-offs, not only between work and personal life, but also between their careers. Their lives are filled with negotiation. One significant challenge for dual-career couples is relocation.
12 | Re:locate | Autumn 2015
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