How mediation can effectively address the male‐female power imbalance in divorce

Abstract

AbstractFeminists have long cautioned women in “traditional” marriages against the use of mediation to resolve support and property issues in divorce. Their concern is that the great disparity in power between the more powerful, income‐producing husband and the less powerful, caretaking wife results in the husband winning a greater share of the marital assets. Society must change, feminists insist, in order for a mediator to effectively address the imbalance. Divorce mediators, in contrast, explain that mediators can effectively address the power imbalance between such traditional divorcing spouses and that the mediation process can result in a fair settlement. The resolution of these two conflicting theories is the focus of this article.