51% of US women have no spouse
For probably the first time, more American women are living without a husband than with one, according to a New York Times analysis of census results. In 2005, 51 per cent of women said they were liv ing without a spouse, up from 35 per cent in 1950 and 49 per cent in 2000. Coupled with the fact that in 2005 married couples became a minority of all American households for the first time, the trend could shape social and workplace policies. Several factors are driving the statistical shift. Women are marrying later or living with unmarried partners more often and for longer periods. At the other end, women are living longer as widows and, after a divorce, are more likely than men to delay remarriage. Source: SAM ROBERTS