This Is the Biggest Reason Women File for Divorce

It’s not the housework. It’s not the kids. It’s not even those quote unquote late nights at the office.

The biggest reason women end marriages, according to a recently published Harvard study?  Their husband’s employment status.

Starting in the 1970s, sociology professor Alexandra Killewald has been researching the effect a man’s job security has on divorce rate. After analyzing 46 years worth of data and more than 6,300 U.S. heterosexual married couples, she found that husbands who are not employed have a 3.3% chance of splitting in any given year, as opposed to a 2.5% chance of divorce for husbands with a full-time job.

When did this happen? Around 1975, according to Killewald. Why did this happen? Crazy little thing called a revolution. Second-wave feminism ushered in a new era for American women, and as they became more independent and career-oriented, “Wives [began to] have more freedom in how they ‘do’ marriage” Killewald reports.

The study considered a host of relationship factors, including household responsibilities, economic co-dependence and finances — but none correlated with a higher instance of divorce than the husband’s job status. It’s worth noting that this didn’t take into account husbands who voluntarily didn’t work, which bodes well for the aspiring stay-at-home dads among you.

Otherwise, better start pounding that pavement.