Q. What happens to breadwinning women in divorce?
A. Sadly, most of them end up much worse financially than they were. That's not necessarily different than most divorces overall, but these women end up having to pay alimony and child support. It creates a bigger stress emotionally, financially and in terms of time.
Divorced women are not only supporting themselves, but members of their extended family as well. That might explain why many of them report not being as knowledgeable as they would like to be about their finances. What's interesting is that divorced women in our study felt the least supported in workplace. By contrast, the widows felt the most supported.
Q. Are breadwinning women taking advantage of flexible work situations?
A. Nearly 85 percent of the women we surveyed said companies are doing an excellent job of providing technology that gives them the ability to be more flexible. That's really important, but 46 percent of them are also saying: 'My employer is not supporting my needs in terms of a work-life balance.'
When it comes to their jobs, they are some are getting more leadership training and mentoring. But there is still a big gap between: 'I'm going to help coach you in your career,' and 'I'm going to make sure you are getting a defined career path.'
There is an opportunity here for companies to really differentiate themselves in terms of talent development as well as attracting and retaining women.