Just under half of millennial men think it is 'much better for everyone involved' if the man works, woman stays at home

While one might be inclined to think that gender equality creeps its way forward with the progression of history, several new studies of millennials might offer a grim portrait of the opposite. One such study was released by the Council on Contemporary Families on Thursday and found that in 1994, 83 percent of men rejected that the ideal household is one where the man earns the money and the woman takes care of the family and home. By 2014, only 55 percent of men rejected the statement.

Whoa. More and more young men (18-25) want stay-at-home wives. https://t.co/eNGnK3qEQu pic.twitter.com/qSYr97U7XU

— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) March 31, 2017

A similar study released Friday by the sociologists Joanna Pepin and David Cotter found that in 1994, 30 percent of high school seniors believed that the husband "should make all the important decisions in the family" and by 2014, that number was almost 40 percent.

But why? Political scientist Dan Cassino spoke with The New York Times:

[...] Cassino suggests that the increased support for male leadership in home life among 18- to 25-year-olds may reflect an attempt to compensate for men's loss of dominance in the work world. Youths surveyed in 2014 grew up in the shadow of the financial crisis, which accelerated the longstanding erosion of men's earning power. During the 2016 primaries, when Professor Cassino asked voters questions designed to remind them that many women now earn more than men, men became less likely to support Mrs. Clinton. Perhaps a segment of youth is reacting to financial setbacks suffered by their fathers. Indeed, a 2015 poll commissioned by MTV found that 27 percent of males aged 14 to 24 felt women's gains had come at the expense of men. [The New York Times]

Read more about the backward shift at The New York Times.