It is important to note that the majority of working women (and
working men) work in jobs rather than careers. Careers are distin-
guished from jobs in that careers require a high degree of commitment,
develop continuously ( Rapoport & Rapoport, 1976), and typically
require at least a bachelor's degree. However, increasing numbers of
women are pursuing careers rather than jobs. For example, in 1970,
women earned 7% of all medical degrees and 5% of all law degrees; in
1985, 28% of medical degrees and 37% of law degrees were awarded
to women ( U.S. Department of Education, 1985).

Of professional women who marry, the vast majority marry men who
also have professional careers ( Astin, 1969; Feldman, 1973). Thus, as
the number of women pursuing professional careers continues to rise,
the number of dual-career marriages can also be expected to increase.
Before 1970, marriages in which the wife as well as the husband
pursued careers were exceptional, even aberrant phenomena on the
fringe of mainstream culture. A review of the popular press as well as
scholarly literature suggests that today dual-career marriages occupy
center stage in the drama of changing gender roles.

Research into dual-career marriages began in the late 1960s,
yielding qualitative portraits of the dual-career pioneers ( Rapoport &
Rapoport, 1971). Since then, researchers have focused primarily on
specific aspects of dual-worker or dual-career marriages. Given the
dramatic changes that have occurred since the initial research on
dual-career couples, it is striking that, other than unreliable reports in
the popular press, a multidimensional portrait of contemporary dual-
career couples is lacking.

Dual-career marriages occupy a small corner of the universe of
dual-worker marriages and represent a highly privileged group. Hence,
they cannot be seen as representative of all marriages in which both
spouses are employed. However, women in dual-career marriages have
entered the upper echelons of male employment and, hence, are
making strides toward greater gender equality at work. As a result,
their marriages comprise a fascinating and apt focus for studying
change and stasis in the family and in the interface of the worlds of
work and home.

In the current era of divorce, it must be recognized that this is a study
of survivors. The stories of the casualties of dual-career marriages are
likely to read differently and require their own investigation.

The current investigation of dual-career marriage grows out of and
builds on previous research on how women and men engage in work

-2-