In the end, it was not mainly about empowering women, it was about doubling the worker pool.
And with all the money you now as a couple earn, you can pay someone else to care for and raise your children.
Then, we are all surprised that the bonds in the family aren't strong anymore, boys grow up without a father figure, and everybody feels they need to go to a therapist because they have nobody in the family and amongst friends they can trust.
I don't want to believe this but it actually almost is, we earn probably more than any generation before us but with inflation, lifestyle creep and social media we also need to keep up with our peers to go to the flashiest places and have the craziest experiences and buy all the cool things we are just on a grind were meanwhile we outsource things like taking care of our children and relatives like our old parents. Wow hits very close to home.
> In the end, it was not mainly about empowering women, it was about doubling the worker pool.
This is a cynical take. I'm unhappy with the situation we ended up with, but the primary factor was to give women a choice, not to force them to sit home by default and only pursue what they love if they put enormous effort to it.
I'd go as far as to say the failure of single-income household was unintended effect of several good changes that people fought for over decades. And I believe you're wrong about the lack of father figure because in the traditional model he was ever more absent as today - Cat's in the Cradle is 50 years old now.
And with all the money you now as a couple earn, you can pay someone else to care for and raise your children.
Then, we are all surprised that the bonds in the family aren't strong anymore, boys grow up without a father figure, and everybody feels they need to go to a therapist because they have nobody in the family and amongst friends they can trust.