A third of British women earn more than their men

A third of British women are earning more than their men and are now the main breadwinners at home, a new survey has revealed.

According to the Women and Work Survey 2010, commissioned by Grazia magazine, 30 per cent women earn more than their partners, and a further 19 per cent earn almost the same amount.

Moreover, four out of 10 women respondents said that the career of whichever partner had the highest income would take precedence in relationship, the Daily Mail reported.

In one in 10 families, a house husband looks after the children and does the chores while their female partner works full time.

Ten per cent of women admitted this role reversal had put strains on their relationship and some said it had even led to them parting company, the poll revealed.

The survey also found that almost half of full-time mothers disliked not earning their own money.

And two thirds of the mothers among the 2,000 women in the survey said they wanted to keep working in some way after having children.

A slightly higher number of those with children under three said they would prefer to work -- preferably part-time, rather than stay at home.

"Women are getting good jobs when they graduate, and working up the career ladder faster than they have ever done. This means that there has to be more fluidity between roles of men and women in a relationship and when they have children.

"If a couple are having a baby and it is the woman who is the highest earner it might make more sense for the man to pick up the slack and help out with the child-rearing. "Instead of the have-it-all woman who tries to do everything, we are now seeing crossover couples who share roles," Victoria Harper of Grazia was quoted by the British newspaper as saying.