Women are more likely than men to ask for a divorce

New research reveals that women are more likely to initiate a divorce. Photo: Getty

Coming to the decision to divorce is a difficult one to make, but new research suggests women may be better at it.

Research from the US has examined who tends to initiate a breakup in heterosexual marriages. While women were more likely to want out in marriages, if a man and woman were living together unmarried, each gender was equally likely to want to split up.

The analysis, called 'How Couples Meet and Stay Together' survey collected information from over 2200 adults with partners of the opposite sex who answered questions of their relationship status.

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Between the years of 2009 and 2015, 69 per cent of divorces were initiated by women, while 31 per cent of men started proceedings.

According to study author Michael Rosenfeld, associate professor of sociology at Stanford University, nearly all studies show that women are more likely to ask for a divorce. While it’s unclear why, Rosenfeld hypothesised that it could be that in some cases, women find marriage a burden.

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“I think marriage as an institution has been a little slow to catch up with the expectations for gender equality. Most women give up their names upon marriage, and still face a unequal share of child care and house work, he noted in a statement.

“On the other hand, I think that non-marital relationships lack the historical baggage and expectations of marriage, which makes the non-marital relationships more flexible and therefore more adaptable to modern expectations … of gender equality.”

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