OVER THE LAST FEW decades, sociologists and economists have been exploring the consequences of marriage for men and for women. Many of the studies indicate that married people are happier, healthier and richer than single or divorced people. Sometimes this masks the fact that marriage has more advantages for men than for women especially when we examine the financial portfolios of married women in developed countries compared to never married or widowed women. Married women appear to have smaller pensions and investments as well as savings. In the UK where I live, many more women work part-time than men, particularly after childbirth; there are more men than women in senior professional and managerial positions; and finally, more women care for elderly relatives (including parents and in-laws) than men and do so either by working part-time or by quitting their jobs. Given these exits from the labour market at various points in their lives, it is not surprising that when they are close to retirement women have smaller pensions and greater economic insecurity compared to men. [Read More]