Gene Simmons thinks women are too dependent on men, but research suggests otherwise.

The reality television star and Kiss bassist told FoxNews.com, Women: Stop depending on men. Its as simple as that. Imagine there are no men in life. Go out there and make as much money as you can, get two jobs, get three jobs, do whatever it is, find out that thing that youre good for that makes the money and then get married and/or have children from a position of strength.

He added, Men must work for a living. Women have the option of becoming the housewife. (He also said men will inevitably run off on their wives: The statistics tell us predominantly they will run out on you.)

Those are strong words of advice from a man who married a woman after more than 20 years. But the stereotype of a woman waiting to snag a man so she can sit back and then be supported doesnt bear out.

For a start, women are less likely to depend on their parents for money, according to a 2014 survey of 2,046 U.S. adults carried out by research firm Harris Poll and commissioned by financial technology company Yodlee Interactive. In fact, only 31% of women with living parents or in-laws receive financial support from them, compared to 41% of men. Women are also less likely than men (25% vs. 32%) to live with their parents or in-laws. Men aged 35 to 44 are almost twice as likely to cite being unemployed or underemployed as the reason they live with their parents, while women are twice as likely to cite because theyre taking care of their parents.

A man is not a plan, says Michelle Patterson, chief executive of Women Network, an online community forum for women, who adds that women are increasingly financially independent. With the divorce rate as high as it is, women living longer and the primary care giver for their aging parents, women are having to step into a financial leadership role more often than not.

Patterson also says that ignoring the possibilities of a rainy day because you think that would never happen to me is living a fairy tale every day. In fact, men carry 4.3% more debt than women, according to a 2013 study by Experian Marketing Services. Women working full-time in the U.S. earn approximately 23% less income than men, but they are taking steps to manage their finances better than men, the study concluded. Men had a higher incidence of late mortgage payments than women (5.7% versus 5.3%) and higher average debt ($26,227 versus $25,095).

More women with children are also working. While the number of stay-at-home moms rose to 29% of mothers in 2012, up from a modern-era low of 23% in 1999, this figure is still down from 49% over four decades ago, according to an analysis of government data by the Pew Research Center, which represents a major reversal on the long-term decline in the number of stay-at-home moms. (The category includes mothers who choose to stay at home to care for their families, but also those who are at home because they are unable to find work, are disabled or are enrolled in school.) Some theories for the fluctuation: more women are going to college since the 1970s, but childcare costs have spiked in recent years.

Forget the "winter blues:" A significant minority of people actually cheer up and gain energy as the days get shorter.

Men have long been the dominant participants in the paid labor force, but a significant number of women have also joined them during the past 40 years, according to a separate 2014 study by The Pew Charitable Trusts. In the early 1970s, 43% of all women were wage earners. Today, nearly 60% of women are working in paid employment. Much of this growth can be attributed to working mothers, who increased their numbers in the workforce by 50% over the past generation, the report found.

Read more:
Why Gene Simmons is wrong about women and financial dependence

Comments are closed.