Key Takeaways:
Women Initiate Divorce More Often – Research shows that 69% of divorces are filed by women, with rates as high as 90% among college-educated women.
Financial and Career Factors Influence Divorce – Women today are more financially independent and may feel held back by traditional marriage roles, making them more likely to leave unsupportive partnerships.
Men Are Less Likely to File Due to Financial Consequences – Studies suggest that men with significantly higher incomes than their wives are less likely to divorce, possibly due to concerns over asset division and alimony.
Why Do Women File for Divorce More Often Than Men?
Anyone can argue that marital loyalty, including the idea of staying together “till death do us part,” isn’t inevitably dictated by gender. Loyalty in marriage can broadly vary among individuals.
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However, many more people (especially men) would contend that women are more likely to initiate divorces, compared to men. How true is this? If true, what is the driving force behind this? Continue reading to find out more, including what studies show.
What Research Says About Who Divorces More
The chances of men and women filing for divorce vary. Multiple studies and surveys have probed these trends. One popular conclusion: women initiate the process of dissolving most marriages.
That finding is somewhat strange when you put into perspective the notion that women are the parties in relationships that are more desirous of getting married.
One often-cited study as regards which gender divorces more is that by Michael Rosenfeld of Stanford University. In a 2015 paper presented at the American Sociological Association’s 110th Annual Meeting, the sociology professor noted that women filed for 69 percent of divorces. This was based on How Couples Meet and Stay Together survey data for 2009-2015, including 2,262 adults.
The proportion of divorces initiated by college-educated women was as high as 90%!
These staggering figures might make you wonder: what makes women call time on their marriages more often than men?
Reasons Women Initiate Divorces
Multiple factors could be adduced for women initiating divorces more often. The most common ones include the following.
Low marital satisfaction
According to research, women tend to report lower marital satisfaction compared to men. There are different reasons for this, including unmet expectations, poor communication, and lack of emotional support.
Some enter into marriages more as a result of social pressure, even when they are not happy enough from the start. Psychologists suggest that women’s higher emotional intelligence may lead them to recognize and verbalize dissatisfaction earlier than men. Additionally, shifting gender roles mean that women today are less willing to tolerate unhappiness in marriage than in previous generations (Hetherington, 2003).
Career considerations
In today’s society, we have more career-oriented women. The domestic duties or chores that are traditionally expected of women remain, even when they also now contribute to house income. Some working women feel held back by marriage because they believe their husbands are not adequately supportive. This makes them conclude that they would not be worse off if they opted out of their marriages altogether.
Reduced tolerance
Experts have also observed that women are becoming increasingly less tolerant of unfaithfulness. Cheating men are more likely to find themselves divorced these days probably more than ever before. Infidelity is one of the most damaging factors in a marriage, especially when trust is already fragile.
More and more women are becoming economically independent, thereby making them less at the mercy of a cheating spouse. It does not even take repeated instances of infidelity for wives to call it quits in some cases.
Societal sympathy
The way society views or treats men and women after divorce isn’t always similar. Women are usually more social. Therefore, they are more likely to have more friends than their spouses. This gives them a strong support system to fall back on if they decide to divorce.
Studies suggest that divorce can be “contagious” within social circles. When a close friend divorces, the likelihood of a woman initiating divorce increases by up to 75% within the next two years (McDermott et al., 2013).
Domestic violence and alcohol abuse are part of the other reasons that make women file for divorce more often.
The Role of Money
Money – or the lack of it – is a major cause of problems in different relationships, including marriages. And it’s a fact that financial capability is among the factors women consider in potential partners.
Some people claim that divorce settlements are a driving force behind women’s initiation of divorce. From this perspective, divorce means a payday! Divorce decisions can often be controversial because of this.
In certain jurisdictions, it does not matter how long a man and a woman have been married for her to be entitled to a substantial portion of his fortune. Women may even get large slices after divorce if such fortunes had been made before the marriage. Some people deem this as unfair.
Evidence suggests that these divorce settlements make men less likely to file for divorce, especially when they have large incomes. For instance, a study of Swedish lottery players showed that winning a lottery reduces the likelihood of a man’s divorce. Winning makes a woman, by contrast, more likely to divorce—at least in the short term.
Similar findings were reported by Professor Rosemary L. Hopcroft of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She found that men whose incomes were more than $38,000 greater than their spouses’ had only a 1.2% likelihood of divorce. These men are less likely to divorce or be divorced. However, men who earned less than their wives were at a greater risk of being divorced.
Related Reading:
Marriage Woes Could Be the Root Cause of Your Chronic Health Problems
Higher Incidence of Abuse in Intimate Relationships Involving Women Compared to Male-Only Partnerships
Women with Divorced Friends Are More Likely to Divorce Themselves
Conclusion
Loyalty in marriage is an individual and deeply personal matter, however. There are different reasons people may choose to not remain married “till death do us part.”
While divorce rates remain high, the real question is: are men less likely to file because they are more committed or because they fear financial and social consequences? Research suggests that emotional connection, shared values, and adaptive conflict resolution are key predictors of long-term marital success—not simply who initiates divorce (Gottman & Silver, 2015). In the end, commitment isn’t about gender—it’s about the willingness to evolve together.
FAQs: Divorce & Gender Trends
Why do women file for divorce more often than men?
Women often report lower marital satisfaction, feel unsupported in household responsibilities, and may be less tolerant of infidelity compared to previous generations.
Do men actually take ’till death do us part’ more seriously?
Not necessarily. Some men may stay in marriages due to financial concerns or fear of losing assets, rather than deeper commitment.
Does financial status affect divorce rates?
Yes. Studies show that men who earn significantly more than their wives have lower divorce rates, while women with financial security may feel more empowered to leave unhappy marriages.
Are divorce settlements a factor in why men don’t file?
Possibly. In some jurisdictions, women may be entitled to a large portion of their spouse’s wealth, even if it was acquired before marriage, making wealthier men less likely to initiate divorce.
Can having divorced friends make you more likely to divorce?
Yes. Research suggests that women with divorced friends are more likely to file for divorce themselves, as social support can make leaving a marriage feel more acceptable.
References
Rose McDermott, James H. Fowler, Nicholas A. Christakis, Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, Unless Everyone Else Is Doing It Too: Social Network Effects on Divorce in a Longitudinal Sample, Social Forces, Volume 92, Issue 2, December 2013, Pages 491–519, https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sot096
Hetherington, E. M. (2004). Intimate pathways: Changing patterns in close personal relationships across time. Family Relations, 52(4), 318-331. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2003.00318.x
Gottman, J. M., & Silver, N. (2015). The seven principles for making marriage work. Harmony Books.
3 Reasons Why Women Initiate Divorce More Often Than Men. https://www.whitleylawfirmpc.com/3-reasons-why-women-initiate-divorce-more-often-than-men/
Why Women Initiate Divorce More Often Than Men. https://divorce.com/blog/who-initiates-divorce-more/
Rosenfeld, MJ (2015). Who Wants the Breakup? Gender and Breakup in Heterosexual Couples. 110th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).
Hopcroft, RL (2023). Husbands with Much Higher Incomes Than Their Wives Have a Lower Chance of Divorce. https://ifstudies.org/blog/husbands-with-much-higher-incomes-than-their-wives-have-a-lower-chance-of-divorce-
Cesarini, D. et al (2023). Fortunate Families? The Effects of Wealth on Marriage and Fertility. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). DOI https://doi.org/10.3386/w31039