Good morning, Broadsheet readers! An investigation finds widespread sexual misconduct at the FDIC, young people don't want to move to states with abortion bans, and women have the most to lose as divorce rates soar among baby boomers. Have a wonderful Wednesday!
- Divorce boom. Divorce rates in the U.S. have steadily declined for almost two decades—except among one segment of the population that has seen an uptick. Called "gray" divorce, those over 50 are leaving their spouses at twice the rate they did in the 1990s (and for those over 65, the divorce rate has tripled), according to a 2022 study published in The Journals of Gerontology. No spouse comes out of a divorce unscathed. Older men living alone are lonelier than their female counterparts, but women, generally speaking, have more to lose financially.
In heterosexual marriages, women are more likely than men to drop out of the workforce in their prime earning years to care for children, putting them at a disadvantage in divorce proceedings. After a split, many women must re-enter the labor force, potentially for the first time in decades. A 2021 study from The Journals of Gerontology finds that women 50 and older who divorce experience a 45% decline in their standard of living, compared to 21% for men, and Pew finds they are more likely to live in poverty than men.
