ABSTRACT
Does the enhanced power and status of women in society translate into enhanced power in the family, between wives and husbands? The research shows that money, knowledge and status are the three most important power bases in marital politics. However, when wives acquire the money power base it does not necessarily translate into more equal marital relations; rather it often results in tensions in the relationship. There are egalitarian marriages in the United States, but they represent “creeping incrementalism”, and tend to be found most often among African American and younger well-educated middle-class couples with roughly equal incomes.
