In a recent article I explored the increasing equality in the home of coworking couples, with research showing that women are less likely to have to uproot their own careers to follow their partner should they need to relocate than ever before.

“In the past, when a dual-earner couple would move, they might have put more weight on the man’s career. They would have been willing to move for a new job opportunity for the man, even if it would hurt the woman’s career,” the researcher explains. “Whereas now they weigh both of these considerations more evenly, and they might forego an opportunity for the man out of concern for disrupting the woman’s career.”

Financial benefits

Research from the Aalto University School of Business suggests that women also tend to benefit in other ways when living in a coworking couple. The researchers show that the incomes of each individual tend to converge, which runs counter to the more traditional view that women tend to earn a bit less than their male partners due to gender norms.

The new study suggests, however, that when both couples are self-employed, it’s often advantageous for each member of the partnership to equalize their earnings, as this can help to minimize income tax payments and avoid any unnecessary family negotiations. This results in the income of each person converging, which contrasts with more typical relationships where women earn around 42% of the family income.

Interestingly, the results suggest that women also seemed to benefit when they worked with their partner in the same firm, which the researchers believe suggests that they may be able to improve the negotiation of their wages as a result.

“This does not imply that gender norms do not play a role in marriage and in women’s labor supply decisions. It is possible that the norm gradually gains importance with the increase in the relative earnings of women, but there is no sharp discontinuity in spouses’ preferences around the point with equal earnings,” the researchers conclude.