A combination of factors, from increased women's advancement and gender parity to the recession, have gradually led to a rise in female breadwinners. But according to a new survey, many of these women are keeping mum about out-earning their partners.

The online survey of more than 460 businesswomen who attended the Simmons Leadership Conference in Boston last year reveals that these female breadwinners are proud of their financial role, but that most keep it hidden from family, friends and employers. Plus, most of the women became breadwinners without explicitly discussing it with their partners and are still responsible for the bulk of home and child care duties, according to the study from the Center for Gender in Organizations (CGO) at the Simmons School of Management in Boston. 

“Our research shows the degree to which women and men have fixed roles in American culture,” says study co-author Mary Shapiro, a professor of practice at the Simmons School of Management. “It signals how society still expects women to maintain the traditional and subordinate role to men in their earnings and work life.”

From the study’s sample of mostly white middle-class women, 59 percent considered themselves to be the breadwinners, or primary financial contributors (PFC) of their household, contributing an average of 88 percent average of the household income. Female non-PFCs contributed an average of 44 percent to their household income. In the survey, both PFCs and non-PFCs indicate it isn’t “anyone’s business to know” their contributions to household income. PFCs also mentioned that they did not want to embarrass their non-PFC partner. Though the majority of these female breadwinners do the same amount of housework and child care as their partners, they say they intend to advance in their careers.

Perhaps being more vocal about being the primary family breadwinner could help in the fight for female pay equity and increased family friendly workplace policies. Are you the breadwinner in your family? What's your stance on revealing this?