"ALTARED" STATES
The ever-evolving role of marriage and family for modern women, and what these seismic changes augur for marriage and society at large.
- Today, one-third of American women are unmarried—a huge number that reflects a significant trend. For the first time in history, unmarried women as a group have a significant influence on the culture and politics.
- More than 22 million American women live alone—an 87% increase in the past two decades.
- Unmarried women aren’t on hold; they aren’t in waiting. They feel a strong sense of personal identity and entitlement. They are fully living their lives in the present.
- In a 1965 survey, three out of four college women said they would marry a man they didn’t love if he fit their criteria in every other way. Today 80% of women say they’d rather have a partner who can communicate his feelings than one who makes a good living.
- Today, 66% of divorces are initiated by women, and the numbers are even higher among women in their fifties and sixties.
- While 45% of men named their spouse or significant other as their most important relationship, only 34% of women did.
