American women, who trail men when it comes to making money, leading companies and accumulating wealth, are closing the gap on at least one measure: cheating on their spouses.
The percentage of wives having affairs rose almost 40 per cent in the past two decades to 14.7 per cent in 2010. The number of men admitting to extramarital affairs held constant at 21 per cent, according to the National Opinion Research Centre's General Social Survey.
The narrowing gap reflects multiple trends: wives with their own jobs have less to lose economically from a divorce, and social media have made it easier to have affairs.
''Men are still more likely to cheat than women,'' said sociologist Yanyi Djamba. ''But the gender gap is closing.''
Blacks, executives and managers and southerners were most likely to report extramarital affairs to the 40-year-old survey.
The survey results lend support to the argument that what has been presumed about female sexuality for centuries may be wrong.
Daniel Bergner, the author of the newly published book What Do Women Want?, said cultural expectations had prevented women from having more affairs.
An increasing body of science suggests women's sex drives are as powerful as men's, Bergner said, though they have been repressed by thousands of years of male-dominated culture.
Bloomberg
