American women are more free, empowered, and financially independent than ever. Now, they’re claiming extra-marital affairs for themselves, at rates approaching those of men.

Couples therapists say that nearly 40 percent of the women they see have cheated on their husbands, and roughly half of the men they see have cheated on their wives. One reason it’s getting easier than ever for women to have extra-marital affairs, they say, is the help of the Internet.

Click the “Listen” links to hear about the sharp rise in female infidelity, and what it means for women, men and marriages today.

Guests:

Lorraine Ali, contributing editor for Newsweek magazine. She is co-author of this week’s cover story, “The New Infidelity”

Susan Shapiro Barash, adjunct professor of gender studies at Marymount Manhattan College. She is author of “The New Wife: The Evolving Role of the American Wife” and “A Passion for More: Wives Reveal the Affairs that Make or Break Their Marriages.”

Elana Katz, Faculty Coordinator of Clinical Services for the Ackerman Institute for the Family.

Amy Reisen, divorce attorney with the New Jersey law firm of Freundlich & Reisen