For an explanation of the micro economics involved see www.m20f2.co.uk

I suggests that women are attracted to men who earn 20% more than they do. The more women earn the less opportunity there is for them to find a partner whereas the opposite is true for men.

The analysis is based on 0.5m British government employees.

  In my personal experiences, all the jobs i have worked pay the same, with no room for any variations of age race sex or other biases. Though I have noticed there are more men in the repair fields than women, and these jobs pay more. Perhaps it's the views of those higher up who have the ability to hire and and are not encouraging women to move up and may even be holding them down. You may not have this point of view, but if your boss does or the people around you have set opinions then you are more likely to show and help propagate this view wether you believe it or not. Look at the time frame of the observations. The further back in time we go, the more attitudes change towards that bias. As time progress  these attitudes will begin to change and there will be less of a legacy of this type of thinking.

An alternate interpretation could be that men with traditional views have wives at home to provide all the caring work needed for their families. When one partner can focus solely on their career without the distraction of family, they can perform at a different level than one who is juggling family and career. More egalitarian views  ensure that BOTH partners will have a greater chance of succeeding in their careers in the long run while they may BOTH have to make tradeoffs in the short term to provide the caring work needed within the family. While one partner might be earning less, they will both be earning and both with have retained their capacity for future earning potential. At www.youronramp.com we support women as  they make non-linear career choices to balance career and family goals.

This article is in itself biased. Why does Ms. Begley assume men who are willing to work their tails off so that their wife can stay at home with the children are sexist. I am very grateful my husband isn't a lazy, prissy man who wants the children to be in daycare all day so he doesn't have "the burden" of being the only one "working". My husband loves all the care I put into the home and children and is willing to do whatever it takes to keep us happy. I love him for all his personal sacrifices for our family.