Two Classes, Divided by ‘I Do’Posted in Articles, Family/Parenting, Social Science, United States on 2012-07-15 21:01Z by Steven |
Two Classes, Divided by ‘I Do’
The New York Times
2012-07-15
Jason Deparle
Also see the video, “Single and Unequal” by Shayla Harris here.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Jessica Schairer has so much in common with her boss, Chris Faulkner, that a visitor to the day care center they run might get them confused.
They are both friendly white women from modest Midwestern backgrounds who left for college with conventional hopes of marriage, motherhood and career. They both have children in elementary school. They pass their days in similar ways: juggling toddlers, coaching teachers and swapping small secrets that mark them as friends. They even got tattoos together. Though Ms. Faulkner, as the boss, earns more money, the difference is a gap, not a chasm.
But a friendship that evokes parity by day becomes a study of inequality at night and a testament to the way family structure deepens class divides. Ms. Faulkner is married and living on two paychecks, while Ms. Schairer is raising her children by herself. That gives the Faulkner family a profound advantage in income and nurturing time, and makes their children statistically more likely to finish college, find good jobs and form stable marriages…
Read the entire article here. Watch the video by Shayla Harris here.