It seems that when it comes to employing people we still have very different expectations of men and women. If there are a number of applicants for a job who, hypothetically have identical qualifications and experience and, as such, are all equally suitable for the job, here is how we hire/promote:

1. Married man with children
2. Unmarried (either sex) with no children
3. Married woman with children

If you are a married man with children you are likely to be first choice. If you are married woman with children then the expectation is still that you will be looking after them as your primary role and you can kiss goodbye to that job or promotion.

Our society, it seems, is still locked into the concept that women are primarily carers of children and men are the breadwinners. Which of course simply reflects the reality. In 2004 only 5% of married couples reported the woman as the "breadwinner" and in a large number of these cases it was because of a situation forced on the couple rather than one of choice, for example where the husbands earnings are reduced because of illness or unemployment.

Women can temporarily be the breadwinner, during the unemployment of the husband, or permanently the breadwinner within the household. Typically women only become the permanent breadwinner when they are capable of earning a significantly large amount of money to make this departure from the norm worthwhile. (79% of permanent female breadwinners fall into this category). Accordingly these households are, on average, significantly wealthier than those where the husband is the breadwinner. The poorest are those where the wife is temporarily the breadwinner, presumeably taking a rather lower paid job to support the family through the husbands infirmary or unemployment.

Supporting this general view is the fact that permanent female breadwinners are much more likely to hold a degree and be employed in a professional or managerial position.

Whether we like it or not, it is not usual for women to be the breadwinner and society still expects them to be mothers and housekeepers as well. It is clear that these women embrace these expectation because mothers who are breadwinners still spend more time with the children than the father (8.1/5.8 hours) and spend more time on the housework (15.3/8.3 hours)

The only real plus for the female breadwinner is that they work significantly less hours per week to earn their money than their male breadwinner equivalent (37.1/45.8 hours)

Read more on research gender bias in employee selection by Kathleen Fuegen, who is Professor of Psychology at Ohio State University (click here) and more on breadwinner characteristics by Robert Drago of Pennsylvania State University and David Black and Mark Wooden at University of Melbourne (click here).