Changing but Fragile: Female Breadwinning and Family Stability in Nigeria

Introduction and background

Female breadwinning in this article refers to family situations where the female earns and contributes most or entirely to the household income and financial livelihood (Akanle et al., 2018; Chesley, 2008; Cheung and Choi, 2013; Munsch, 2015; Teachman, 2010). This is against the traditional and normative male breadwinning. Female breadwinning is an emerging and growing phenomenon in urban Sub-Saharan Africa and it is bound to have implications that need to be understood. Even though women have a history of being active in trading activities and have independent sources of income (George, 2007), they largely, traditionally, play supportive roles and are not instituted as family breadwinners in the established patriarchal systems (Akanle and Olutayo, 2012; Akanle et al., 2018). What emerged in such contexts was what can be referred to as dual-earner households (Akanle et al., 2018; George, 2007) but the husbands/males were the ultimate breadwinners providing most, if not all, of the family finance. Men are traditionally expected to be financially or economically capable enough to provide for their families and households, including their wives.

Contemporary socio-economic developments in rapidly urbanizing and industrializing societies are, however, leading to emergence of social facts that are ordinarily incompatible with the socio-economic and patriarchal structures of many African societies (see Akanle, 2011; Ntoimo and Abanihe, 2014; Osawa, 2006), female breadwinning being one with implications for family stability and sustenance. While this phenomenon is appreciable and a growing trend in industrialized societies like the United States of America ¹ and such societies are already, largely, matured in adjustments (Solomon, 2014), most developing countries of Africa, for example, may be ill-prepared yet the phenomenon challenges the traditional gender norms that sustain them. Even in adjusting developed societies, female breadwinning is not without its attendant challenges, and these challenges have been negatively implicated in increasing family instability and divorce (Munsch, 2015; Teachman, 2010). This article therefore explores the growing trend of female breadwinning in Nigeria with implications for family stability. This article departs from the common research on working women. It shows that women in Africa are not only working; in many instances, they are the main or sole breadwinners. The article uncovers the context of female breadwinning and its implication for family stability, especially when and where the wife is the sole breadwinner. This article is a needed contribution to knowledge.

According to Munsch (2015), female breadwinning is related to marital infidelity and overall negative family/marital outcomes, as feminine economic antagonistic tendencies confront instituted expected breadwinning masculinity. In a related version, in an earlier work, Teachman (2010), after examining the relationship between wives’ economic resources and the risk of marital dissolution, found that the economic resources of women are strongly tied to risks of divorce. Hence, female breadwinning can lead to divergently weak level of commitments from both or either of the couple, thereby making the family less stable and vulnerable (Yu, 2015). Literature has also emerged on the phenomenon of female breadwinning and its family outcomes in Asia (Cheung and Choi, 2013; Yeung and Yap, 2013; Yu, 2015). Consensus in this body of knowledge is that, given the incongruity and spatio-historical differentials in female breadwinning and instituted normative existences, family and marital stability tend to be reconstructed and renegotiated, leading to family stability complications. According to Yu (2015), this is particularly so in urban contexts as found in the case of Chinese migrants in the United States, where current familial, economic and cultural conditions in contexts play a role in determining and shaping couples’ views of traditional family models and decisions to either adapt or reject them in association with perceived marital stability.

In a related study, Cheung and Choi (2013) found that as husbands go through economic pressures and economic insecurity, and as they face spousal economic differentials, they struggle and desire to have more power in their relationships; this significantly leads to and increases husband-on-wife physical assault, generalized domestic violence and, ultimately, family instability. In the book The Myth of the Male Breadwinner: Women and Industrialisation in the Caribbean, Safa (1995) documented the bounds of male breadwinning in the Caribbean, focusing on increased industrialization and women’s waged employment. These findings, based on investigations for example in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba, indicate the rise in women’s wage/income-earning capacity with implications for women’s household authority patterns, greater control over the household budget and more effective capabilities to challenge female domination in the home – but not without consequences for family stability.

Studies also exist on breadwinning in the African context, especially within the remit of urbanization and modernization as major trends and definitive events driving changes in the African social systems of families (Akanle et al., 2018; Bigombe and Khadigala, 2003; Iyenda and Simon, 2006; Tamale, 2004; Becker, 1981). While Akanle et al. (2018), for instance, examined the turbulent nature of female breadwinning and coping mechanisms of women and concluded female breadwinning is not a bed of roses, Iyenda and Simon (2006) examined the gender relational contours of breadwinning within family life in Kinshasa through the intermingling force and factor of breadwinning. Tamale (2004) documented the traumatic interfaces and elements of gender existences as they are affected by women’s access to valuable resources. Bigombe and Khadiagala (2003) documented the roles of recent developments as trends in moderating and reconfiguring family relations, as demonstrated in shifting configurations of breadwinning in the context of the family.

Contemporary problematic reconfigurations of breadwinning roles in the context of family increased in Africa especially from the 1980s to early 2000 with the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in East Africa, for example (Withers et al., 2015). While there may be generally no shortage of studies on breadwinning issues in Africa, there is a need for more recent works to better understand consequences of urbanization, gender, health, modernization and industrialization in Sub-Saharan Africa. More research is needed in African urban contexts to understand the ramifications of female breadwinning and its implications for the family. This is particularly important as the family remains almost the only buffer zone in many African societies without social welfare and social security coupled with weakened government and compromised state institutions (Adesina, 2010; Gaunt, 2013; Gilligan et al., 2015).

Female breadwinning is a definitive aspect of social change in Africa, yet studies are insufficient on the subject on the continent. Many existing studies do not directly address female breadwinning and many merely lump associated issues under gender equality, legal provisions, women’s rights, child labour, the informal economy, domestic servants, social change, women’s liberation, dual-earner families and general feminist meta-narratives (Awe, 1992; George, 2007; Mathabane, 1995). Specific research questions of this article are; what is/are the prevailing attitude(s) of couples and children in female breadwinning families? What are the likely outcomes of female breadwinning in terms of family stability? And what can we learn from the generational experiential linkages of the couples?

Research methodology

Lagos was the primary setting of the study. Lagos is one of the three mega-cities in Africa (the other two being Cairo and Kinsasha (Akanle and Adejare, 2017; Akanle, 2012)). Lagos is in the south-western part of Nigeria. It is the smallest state in the country in terms of landmass, but is the most populous and the most urbanized in the country (Akanle et al., 2018). The city is also the economic and industrial capital of the country. Even though Abuja Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is the political and administrative capital, most industrial and economic activities take place in Lagos. Generally, Lagos is reputed to have the largest population of highly skilled workers in Nigeria as skilled workers migrate in droves to the state in search of employment that matches their skills (Ntoimo and Abanihe, 2014). The research design adopted for the study was heuristic and exploratory. Given the nature of the problematic, we adopted a purely qualitative method of data collection (Abanihe, 2002; Heyat, 2002). Twenty in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted in the homes/families of female breadwinners to have a broader perspectives of the issues in familial context. The IDIs were conducted with ten female breadwinners, five husbands of female breadwinners, and five children in the family settings of female breadwinners.

The families where IDIs were conducted have children, and the children interviewed were not minors. Children in Africa do not necessarily represent the categories of ages 1–18 as they do in Euro-American societies. It often means people who still depend on their parents for livelihood and in many instances may still live with their parents due to a harsh economy, unemployment and poverty. The children interviewed for this article are thus people in their late teens and early 20s who still live with their parents (Akanle and Olutayo, 2012; Akanle et al., 2018). The fieldwork covered a period of about eight months including the period of reconnaissance in 2014. We visited different families and eliminated those that did not fit our inclusion criteria. Snowballing was adopted to sample qualified families. We decided to stop the data collection sessions when we reached the stage of theoretical saturation. We did not rely on a single interviewee referral/sampling/network chain to prevent redundant network data that can hamper data quality. Our study population included the spouses and children (not minors) in the households. This was to capture the totality of nuances of the problematic. Data were recorded, transcribed, analysed and presented as ethnographic summaries and interpretive narratives. Also, ethical processes were observed. For instance, principles of anonymity, informed consent and protection from harm were observed for our subjects throughout the research process. The privacy of the families was respected throughout the process. All the people interviewed participated freely with consent. There were no inducements. Fathers, mothers and children gave consent before they were interviewed and the parents freely allowed their children to be involved in the interviews.

It is important to mention a major challenge we faced during data collection. Because of the socio-cultural nature of the environment that does not appreciate female breadwinning, there was an aura of secrecy and denial around the issue. There was immediate unwillingness of some people to be interviewed, especially men. Some men practically refused to be interviewed and we had to eliminate such families completely. Some families, however, agreed to be part of the research after detailed explanations as to the purely scientific purpose of the research and guarantee of anonymity then and in the future. Considerable time was also spent on interview appointments as there was need for repeat visits and some people had to be waited upon, even upon appointments as they manoeuvre among many activities typical of urban settings. We were able to cope with the field challenges/experiences ultimately and the research was a success.

Data analysis and findings: Attitudes of couples in female breadwinning families

We started our analysis by examining attitudes of couples to female breadwinning. This is particularly important because female breadwinning operates within a strong context of patriarchy (Ntoimo and Abanihe, 2014) in which couples have been socialized and this may inform subsequent family actions. It was found that most of our subjects are of the opinion that it is not appropriate for a female to be the breadwinner of the family. The ultimate reason given for this is that it is contrary to cultural dictates and it will lead to low self-esteem, reduction of honour and respect for the man (see also Cheung and Choi, 2013; Yu, 2015). Most of our interviewees further maintained that female breadwinning makes the woman arrogant and makes her want to lead and make decisions in the family; this is a role considered to be the sole responsibility of the husband as the head of the family or Baale (father of the house).

Even though most of the interviewees strongly expressed the abominable nature of female breadwinning, a few did not see anything wrong in female breadwinning. According to this few, after all, women are destined to be of assistance to men. What is, however, consistent in the categories of responses is that women are socio-culturally not expected to be breadwinners as family breadwinning is seen and constructed as the exclusive domain of men/husbands. Even for the few that did not condemn female breadwinning, their interpretations suggest acceptance of females as mere assistants rather than main providers. This is important because the present economic realities in transitional economies like Nigeria and evolving mega-cities like Lagos are propelling female breadwinning, yet key actors are not evolving corresponding objective socio-mental attitudes and realizations. Most people still hold on to the dictates of patriarchy even in the face of changing socio-economic structures and realities. An interviewee, a 34-year-old married man, held views consistent with the above findings:

I don’t think it is okay. It is stated in the Holy Book that the man should be the head of the house. You know the man is the breadwinner and I believe in that fact. It is not okay at all for the woman, although there could be some circumstances or challenges that can lead to such, but it is not okay. Most definitely in the African settings and mentality we are in, there would be an impact and effect which will come from two dimensions; positive and negative impact, depending on the individual and two major factors; the man and the wife. I said this because when the man keeps on being useless – useless because his wife is the breadwinner – in the house, the wife may get frustrated and from there hatred and argument will set in and before you know it, negativity is already in the relationship. And in this sense, the man will start feeling inferior believing that his wife did not have regard for him.

A 47-year-old married woman added another perspective:

It is good if a female is providing for the family. Nowadays everything has changed. Everything now – provision/upkeep – is upon women. The responsibility the man is supposed to do in the house is being carried by the woman. To pay children’s school fees, to make the children look good etc. In fact, many men nowadays always need somebody that will serve as a backup for them. So any woman who wants to marry and does not have any work at hand will just only cause quarrel in the house and there will be no peace in the family.

Another important finding we made is that many of the women we studied appear to have come to terms with the reality of female breadwinning, as can be seen in the second excerpt above. This is because they have found themselves in it and are already adjusting to it. They all, however, opine that it is not normal; it is dangerous and can have a negative impact. Most of the men, on the other hand, have not come to the same conclusion. Most see the phenomenon as an affront on their masculinity, identity, culture and spiritually ordained glory. It is noteworthy, however, that this disposition is not necessarily of the men in isolation but even the response and perception of their significant others, who tend to see such men as useless at home and outside for failing in their most important responsibility – being breadwinners who provide for the family. Most of the respondents cited culture and religious books to support this attitude, as seen in the excerpts/summaries that exhibit negative attitudes to female breadwinning. According to a 54-year-old married woman:

Definitely because the religious book said that the woman is the help mate – assistant – to the man, she will surely breakdown and talk – complain of the heavy burden of providing for the family solely – and the man will get angry. The man will feel guilty for not performing his responsibility.

To have a complete view of the households, we also gathered the views of the children as key actors. This is because views of the children are also important since their experiences in the current family of orientation may determine their own families of procreation outcomes in later life.

Attitudes of children in female breadwinning families

We found that most of the children in the households resonated the cultural expectations of breadwinning. They commonly opined that men – fathers – should be the breadwinners because that is the social expectation for society and households to function well. Many of the children are not always happy knowing that their mother is the sole provider (breadwinner) of the family. The reason for this is the clash between the children’s gender-role socialization and their actual experiences at home (Gilligan et al., 2015). It is largely the combined effects of this clash in gender roles’ social expectation and breadwinning actualities in their families that result in confusion and unhappiness for the children. While most of the children insisted it is wrong for the mothers to be breadwinners, only a few said it is actually not very wrong. For those who opine female breadwinning is wrong, they further explained that a female breadwinner will tend to be emotionally and psychologically imbalanced since she plays not only the role of a woman but also the role of a mother, wife and husband. There is thus the possibility of role conflict and role strain.

The most common submission from the children is that, based on their experiences, they would like to have families where the man is the breadwinner even though the woman may do something (earn a little/less income) to help/support the husband and take care of the family. We attempted to disaggregate findings from the children by sex. It was found that female children largely claim they would like to work and earn income only to support their husbands/families when they are married (their families of procreation) without necessarily relying on their husbands as absolute provider for family needs, but the men/husbands will also be expected to assist in the household chores just as they are willing to assist in financial needs (see also Akanle et al., 2016). Male children, however, maintained that they would like to be the breadwinners in their households even if the wives earn or do not earn income. According to a male child of 24, who captured modal views:

I actually feel bad because what we are taught, culturally and religiously, is that the man is meant to be the breadwinner of the family. I, being in school knowing some things about the family, I will say that the woman as the one carrying both the burden of the man and that of the whole family in the sense that she would be the one to take care of children, the house and the husband again and she also goes to work, come back from work and still have to enter the kitchen to cook is bad. She will still check how the house is faring, if the house is dirty, she will be the one to clean it and take the clothes out for laundry. All these affect the woman psychologically, physically, emotionally and sometimes religiously.

A female child also observed:

I feel bad because we are living in a society where it is the man that is supposed to provide for the family. So, my knowing that it’s my mother that is feeding and clothing the family, I feel bad about it because running to my dad that I need anything, I can’t even stand it because he will send me away that I should go and meet my mother. So it’s so annoying and it’s usually very difficult because she is into small-scale business. So the gain/profit that she is supposed to use to buy another market (stock the shop), she’ll spend it on us the children including my dad. Even the money he receives from my mother, he usually goes out to drink with it. So I’m not happy because my mum is struggling for us the children so that we can become something good in life, of which my dad does not even care. He is supposed to go out and look for job, instead of that, he uses command tone to collect money from my mum, not even to ask.

The children are forming strong impressions about families based on the experiences in their current families. Also, the children are largely more positively oriented towards their mothers based on the nature of total care they get from that source while many form negative and derogatory impressions about their fathers, whom they largely consider irresponsible for violating normative patriarchal expectations of the society. Some children are, however, indifferent to which of their parents is the breadwinner. For such children, the important thing is for the family to be provided for especially as family members just have to stick together and not differentiate by source(s) of income. According to a 14-year-old girl:

At first I feel very bad knowing that my dad is not capable and I’ve always seen men as capable people that can provide for the family. But as long as my needs are met, that’s the most important. It doesn’t matter who is providing, whether its father or mother.

A 22-year-old male child observed:

I will like to bring forth money for the family and take care of my family. A monogamous family, not too many children, be the breadwinner of the family.

After we investigated spousal and children’s attitudes, we then examined the relationship between female breadwinning and family stability.

Female breadwinning and family stability

To establish the relationship between female breadwinning and family stability, we examined how couples attest to love in the family, how female breadwinning affects family stability and divorce orientations. It is important to note that our conception of family stability or instability is contextually relative to confessed relational stress, overt and covert conflict tendencies and confessed disorganization orientations to the extent that divorce, separation and household violence possibilities may not be ruled out in the long run, whether confessed or not. Findings reveal confessions of love in the households. Nearly all the couples in the households confessed to still loving their spouses regardless of the female breadwinning situation. Some interviewees said for a woman to be patient enough to endure all the challenges and burdens of carrying both the work of the man – breadwinning – and her own traditional domestic roles (Bianchi et al., 2007; Boushey, 2009; Gaunt, 2013) without leaving the man (through divorce/separation) like some women may do is love.

The dynamics of love in the households were also found. According to most of our interviewees, their families did not start as female breadwinning ones and it was modern occurrences that led to the female breadwinning situations. This is actually justifiable as not many urban Nigerian women will marry unemployed men as it is customarily expected that the man will be the breadwinner (Akanle et al., 2018). Also, the cost of living in an average urban setting, let alone Lagos mega-city, will make such arrangements impracticable. Hence, most would-be in-laws would not approve that kind of family formation and the role of families and would-be in-laws are important in marriage and family consummation in Africa because marriages and family formations are never between two individuals but between/among families.

A lot of the women remain breadwinners and in the marriage because they are of the opinion that situations will improve and their husbands will become breadwinners once again: the place of hope. A few of the respondents, however, are of the opinion that there will not be love in a female breadwinning household due to the pressure of providing to which the woman is subjected and because of the likely disrespect that the man will be facing every day. These uncomplimentary situations have the tendency to weaken love ultimately. According to interviewees, female breadwinners tend to be unhappy and the unhappiness weakens love and affection for the male spouse just as the psychological pressure and stress the man experiences for not being the breadwinner may weaken his affection towards the family and the spouse. Findings further reveal that female breadwinning has a negative effect on family stability because men in female breadwinning households usually have lower esteem, aggravated intimidation and are prone to intimate partner violence (IPV), gender-based violence (GBV) and general abusive tendencies. Breadwinning women, on the other hand, are more susceptible to nagging, complaints and unhappiness which have family instability possibilities. Most of our interviewees submitted that, all factors considered, divorce and family instability are more likely in female breadwinning households. The trajectory of the general context that will determine family stability outcomes was described by a 47-year-old married woman:

Well, there would be love only when the man helps the woman and make her happy. In the case where he cannot, the love the woman may have for the man will diminish to a very low level but because of God and her children, she might just want to look back at her husband. On the stability of the family, it depends on the woman if she wants a happy home but the truth is it is difficult for men to be happy in such circumstances because they will always feel intimidated, having low self-esteem and the home will be unsettled. The female breadwinning household will experience more divorce than male breadwinning households. This is so because when the woman is not happy, everything to her is not okay including her feelings for her husband and she may have thoughts that is it not better for her not to have a husband than for her to have and he cannot take care of her.

A 64-year-old married man gave a masculine perspective that represents the view of most left-behind/sit at home/fathers at home husbands (Chesley, 2008; Doucet, 2004; Hoang and Yeoh, 2011):

Love only exists nowadays when there is money. If there is no money from the man and the woman has money, the love will die. I bet you, the love she has for her children is greater than that she has for her husband. The stability of the family will be affected. The woman goes out to keep the children and give them what they need. She must talk – complain – anyhow and that will breed arguments. Some women do carry instruments like knife during the argument and ask you to kill them in frustration and the whole neighborhood will gather and call you a bad man, even when you did not touch – beat – them. All these shake – destabilize – the family. When the woman has money – is the breadwinner – and the husband doesn’t and there is argument, the woman will decide to leave since the man is not giving her anything but when she thinks of her children and what people will say, she might end up staying. The female breadwinning households experience more divorce or disorganization.

There is some generational linkage of the families across their families of orientation and families of procreation relative to female breadwinning. This is the remit of the following section.

Generational linkages of female breadwinning families

We found important relationships between interviewees’ family of orientation and family of procreation. Most of the interviewees were from economically stable families and most were from cultural backgrounds that see, expect and accept males as the head of families and breadwinners. Nearly all maintain that their fathers were the family breadwinners while their mothers were largely stay-at-home wives or what is commonly known as full house wives in the context. In terms of family/spousal respect and dignity, most of our interviewees were from households where women respect their husbands and husbands care and provide for their families. Only very marginally few of our subjects said their families of orientation experienced any kind of disorganization.

In childhood, most of our subjects desired families of procreation that are cordial and have male breadwinners, contrary to what they now experience. This may explain the stress and subliminal sense of disapproval they now have towards female breadwinning. The majority of our interviewees, however, claim they do not intend to divorce. This is due to the fact that divorce is usually unfashionable in the context. Most women believe they would rather remain in the female breadwinning family, even though stressful, difficult and tumultuous. This is also because of the value they attach to being married and the future of their children even if their husbands cannot perform the breadwinning role for the family. What is commonly done therefore is to reconstruct their husbands’ roles, existences and importance as symbolic and socio-cultural personalities. They reconstruct their husbands from oko mi (my husband) to baba omo mi (father of my children). The husband in this context may not necessarily be divorced even though he is not able to provide for the family as a father and a husband. The marriage is thus retained for the sake of the children but the female breadwinner becomes more independent and/or the husband becomes jealous and abusive.

Ethnographically, husbands who cannot be breadwinners are then seen as mere alajogbe (flat mates/roommates) rather than effective breadwinning husbands (oko to t’oko ‘se). Even when female breadwinners suffer/experience burden/stress in the family, they reconstruct themselves as more of experiencing iya omo (suffering because of children) that is worthwhile and they rationalize the situation as necessarily important to be worthy iya omo (good mother of children) as women are usually appreciated for suffering for their children even more than suffering for/with husbands. Some women endure the situation because of their children, as children are believed to reward the situation in the future by taking care of the women/mothers later in life when they – the children – succeed. It is also commonly believed that if the woman should divorce/separate, it will have negative effects on the children and compromise their future as they may turn out to be failures in life due to absence of mother’s care occasioned by divorce/separation (Marie, 2010). Most of the women also do not believe in divorce because their culture and religions abhor it and social stigma is usually attached to divorce.

The majority affirmatively opine that their childhood experiences in their families of orientation have positive effects on their disposition and approach to remaining in current female breadwinning. For instance, their parents did not propagate divorce, they were disciplined and the culture and religion into which they were socialized by their families/parents from childhood teach endurance, discipline, understanding, hope and remaining in marriage/family against all odds. Most of our subjects believe that ile eko ni ile oko je (marriage is a school and, as a woman, she must keep learning to be better no matter what she faces) and she cannot graduate and divorce should normally not be an option.

Discussion of findings

The interplay of patriarchy and modernization theories drives the ramifications of female breadwinning in Nigeria. Patriarchy resonates the role of men as the traditional head who provides financially for the sustenance of the family. Modernization, however, introduces complex endogenous and exogenous economic and social processes that challenge the traditional patriarchal roles, thereby creating a structure usually incompatible with current female breadwinning context. Patriarchy is commonly implicated in African and developing countries’ gender and family studies and has been used quite extensively as a historical, cross-cultural, dynamic and variable element (Gill and Mathews, 1995; Ntoimo and Abanihe, 2014; Walby, 1989). In this article, we found the exposition of Ntoimo and Abanihe (2014), relevant.

For Walby (1989), patriarchy can be seen to have six overarching structures: (a) the patriarchal mode of production; (b) patriarchal relations in paid employment; (c) the state; (d) male violence; (e) patriarchal relations in sexuality; and (f) culture. Of the six structures, we found five relevant to our studies and these are all except in paid employment because we did not cover that setting directly. Our findings interconnect with the five relevant structures of Walby (1989). We did, however, find a counter-position to established patriarchal norms as breadwinning roles are somewhat being inverted in the context (Coleman and Franiuk, 2011; Doyle-Morris, 2011; Jessel, 1990; Millette, 1997; Oakley, 1974; Tiger and Fox, 1972). Rather than the women remaining in socially disadvantaged relational roles, they are deconstructing traditional gender roles and replacing them with a new pragmatic construct of female breadwinning.

While the traditional culture of patriarchy may subsist, we found changes between expectations and reality in the context of family through female breadwinning consistent with the works of Allegretto and Lynch (2010), Brewster and Padavic (2000), Doucet (2004), Galinsky et al. (2009), Scott and Braun (2009) and Solomon (2014). While many people are yet to come to terms with female breadwinning, it is occurring and many are already realizing the change. The necessity now is understanding it and appreciating the new boundaries of patriarchy in the foreseeable future of Nigeria and in many other transitional societies (see Cunningham, 2008; Doucet, 2015; Heyat, 2002). While many are still of the view that female breadwinning is an aberration, couples generally observed that when this is inevitable, it is the better approach to come to terms with it, especially in the face of the ascendancy of unemployment and increasing female employment (Brescoll and Uhlman, 2005; Coleman and Franiuk, 2011; Cunningham, 2008; Hoang and Yeoh, 2011). Hence, female breadwinning affects the attitudes of children. Most of the children in female breadwinning homes believe it is not appropriate for women to be breadwinners as this contradicts their socialization norms to the extent that it affects their choice of later life family breadwinning preferences.

Generally, female breadwinning leads to unstable, abnormal and critical situations in families and separation/divorce has the chance of occurring due to in-built pressure and tension in the households. Most of the couples remain in the marriage because of their family background, hope, their children and the stigma associated with divorce (see also Payne and Wermeling, 2009). Will overt family instability and disorganization not set in if female breadwinning persists in the face of high poverty, unemployment and general negative socio-economic outlooks in the country (Akanle, 2013; Akanle, 2014; Akanle et al., 2018; CIA, 2015; World Bank, 2015), especially when female breadwinning contradicts conservative and resistant patriarchy? It is therefore not surprising that we found that female breadwinning families are more likely to experience instability and even divorce possibilities in the long run (Cheung and Choi, 2013; George, 2007; Gilligan et al., 2015, Kanji and Schober, 2014; Youngjoo, 2010; Yu, 2015) as the clash of reality (female breadwinning), culture and tradition (patriarchy) and time rages. It is noteworthy that while it may appear conflicting that female breadwinning has the capacity to create family problems even when couples proclaim love for their partner, associated factors like religion/religiosity, the role of in-laws, the degree of spousal affinity for tradition, couples’ capacity to readjust, time and the degree of commitment to family and marriage are important determinants of ultimate outcomes of family stability. That is, whether female breadwinning and family will ultimately disintegrate and lead to divorce will depend on these background factors, as love is constantly threatened towards family instability and divorce due to female breadwinning.

Conclusion

In this article, we have examined the implications and dynamics of an element of social change – female breadwinning – for families in an urban setting in a transitional economy. Based on our findings and the increase in female breadwinning in industrialized economies like the United Kingdom and the United States of America (Munsch, 2015; Teachman, 2010) and transitional economies like South Africa and Nigeria, there is a need to begin to retheorize patriarchy, feminity and masculinity in situations where women feed the family and there is role reversal and inversion. Modernization can be related to the processes of urbanization, industrialization and the spread of education (Kandall, 2007; Nwoko, 2010) and these are driving the phenomenon of female breadwinning in definitive ways and challenging the conventional notion/existence of patriarchal breadwinning (Bigombe and Khadiagala, 2003; Iyenda and Simon, 2006). The crux of feminism and patriarchy is sustained relegation and discrimination of women into poorly paid employment, outright rejection in the labour market, confinement to unpaid domestic roles and continued subjugation across institutions especially in the family.

These situations are, however, called into question in our study, suggesting a need for more robust, dynamic and contemporary considerations through current economic, family and gender realities as demonstrated in female breadwinning, at least in urban settings, experiencing reclassification of works by gender requirements. Data gathered, analysed and presented in this article also show that religious teachings have a significant influence on how people perceive, relate to and cope with female breadwinning. This is an important finding and policy and scholarship have to factor the role of religion and religiosity into discourses and policies. Religion affects how people perceive, handle, treat and cope with female breadwinning. The role of religion is centrally important in understanding and handling female breadwinning in Africa. Hence, research, scholarship, practice and transformational social policies must appreciate the factors and dynamics of gender relations, existential role play and family stability. What we have also done in this article is to contribute to ongoing debates on contemporary patriarchy, urbanization, industrialization, female breadwinning, childhood development and family in developing and transitional societies. It is thus important to note, from the foregoing, that gender relations in the context of families are changing, as could be noticed through female breadwinning, and these changes have practical implications for family stability now and in the future, even though these changes are fragile.