Can an MBA work for an MRS?

Married women who earn MBAs are more than twice as likely to get a divorce or get separated as their male counterparts, according to a new study.

Can an MBA work for an MRS?

Married women who earn MBAs are more than twice as likely to get a divorce or get separated as their male counterparts, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) about a new study by Washington & Lee University School of Law. Prof. Robin Fretwell Wilson’s study of 100,000 professionals found that 11% of respondents who were women with MBAs described themselves as divorced or separated, compared with 5% of men with MBAs.* According to the WSJ, the study also found that 10% of women with law degrees and 95% of women with medical degrees were divorced or separated.

"In a lot of ways women aren't getting the same deal as men; women can't have it all” Wilson told the WSJ. Other experts claim that not just work, but children, can also have a negative impact on couples and lifestyle. According to Daniel Gilbert, a psychology professor at Harvard University, ‘people are extremely happy before they have children and then their happiness goes down’.

“Women may be unable to change the nature of the working world for many decades to come…what women can control is how they choose to deal with the conflict between high achievement and personal sacrifice.”

At a conference called Happiness and its Causes, Professor Gilbert told a conference that research in the US and Europe proved married couples were more content than singles. But those who were married were happiest when they were childless.

In many countries, as any parent will attest, having children is hard; your finances are hit, childcare expenses are astronomical and women especially seem to suffer in their careers. But is this necessarily why some relationships fail after children enter the picture? To my mind, these findings also raise the question of whether ultimately, like any stress, the test of its impact lies in the strength of the underlying material. If the basis of the relationship is not strong, is the additional stress of children perhaps only hastening the inevitable?

As the Chinese proverb says, ‘a bird sings because it has a song, not because it has an answer’ and women may be unable to change the nature of the working world for many decades to come, however much they try to make themselves heard. What women can control, however, is how they choose to deal with the conflict between high achievement and personal sacrifice.

Countless times, in my years of work as a Careers Coach, I have listened to clients (both female and male) bemoan the hours they gave to their company only to find themselves facing redundancy. The fickleness of their corporate partner only becomes clear when they are escorted out of the building that they have spent more hours in than their own home.

These traumatic break-ups do, however, have a way of focusing their mind and re-focusing their values. The time spent at home, rediscovering bonds with their spouses and children, frequently leads these high-achievers to reassess the type of job role they now desire. Realising that their years of loyalty and devotion has been wasted on a one-sided corporate relationship is often the turning point for people who, sadly sometimes too late, realise that it is not the fast cars and privileged lifestyle that will be their legacy, but the small occupants of the large - and now at risk - mansion.

In this issue of ReConnect Africa, we take a closer look at Africans around Europe and share journalist Reggie Tagoe’s take on the impact of recent changes to immigration law for Italy’s African community. Across the waters in the USA, the recent launch of the Africa Entrepreneurship Platform will bring new impetus to the efforts of Africa’s leading innovators and entrepreneurs.

We speak to the ABE-UK about its mission to promote the engineering profession among ethnic minorities and report on the exciting Africa Oyé African music festival taking place soon in Liverpool.

Our Career Coach sheds some light on how to job hunt in a tight employment market while in this month’s ‘5 Minute Interview’, the illustrious sickle cell specialist, Professor Konotey-Ahulu, shares his lessons on life and work.

We stay with the theme of entrepreneurship in our selection this month from the ReConnect Africa Archives. Regenerating Africa – One Job at a Time is journalist Sylvia Arthur’s report on the SEEDA mission to Ghana to work with grass-roots entrepreneurs and boost job creation.

June sees a tremendous range of events taking place in the UK and overseas and our Events listing offers you a wide variety of things to do.

As ever, we report on news from the UK and around the world and bring you an overview of news from across the African continent.

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