Throughout the Covid pandemic, the employment status of people has often been highly uncertain.  Recent research from the University of Pennsylvania highlights how men and women might react differently to this uncertainty, depending on the value placed on conventional gender norms in their particular culture.

The researchers had been working on various factors that contribute to relationship longevity, and while financial stressors, such as unemployment, are commonly investigated, they didn’t really do so via gender cultural norms.

Gender norms

The researchers examined the situation in the United States and 28 countries from across Europe, with the countries chosen to represent a wide spectrum of gender norms, from conservatives cultures that view the man’s primary role to be that of the breadwinner, to more progressive cultures where a more equal stance is taken.  Couples across these countries were tracked for four years to take in various major life events, including unemployment and divorce.

The researchers hypothesized that in more conservative countries, male unemployment would not just cause financial stress but also stress related to cultural norms.

“We thought that when a man loses his jobs and doesn’t get another one right away it might cast this pressure, this feeling of failure or lack of a sense of status and social identity,” they explain.

This did appear to be the case, as countries where the man’s role as the breadwinner had significant weight also had a stronger connection between any male unemployment and subsequent relationship breakups.  This link was not as prevalent in countries where such a masculine identity is not so pronounced.

“In a more hostile context, a gender-conservative context, men’s unemployment will leave a more negative psychological impact on the man, which reverberates within the couple,” the researchers say. “You’ll have more friends, more family saying, “What’s wrong with your partner? What’s happening here?” That doesn’t make either person feel any better and leads to this cultural pressure that can accentuate stress and ultimately result in a breakup.”

Social expectations

Interestingly, this link tended to break down when couples were cohabiting rather than married.  The researchers believe this highlights the social pressure placed on couples to conform to conventional gender norms after marriage, and perhaps especially so after having children.

While the study doesn’t provide any kind of predictions around the health of relationships, it does nonetheless underline some of the risks associated with unemployment in countries with strong and deeply entrenched gender norms.

“These cultural ideas create support for those who conform to these norms,” the researchers conclude. “The flip side is they create pressure that can negatively affect people who do not.”