Apparently, a woman’s having a successful career does not necessarily mean that she won’t be able to find a husband. That is, according to this article by the Kansas City Store.

At least, not anymore.  Christine Whelan, who counts herself among the SWANS (Strong Woman Achievers, No Spouses) of society, wrote a book called Why Smart Men Marry Smart Women.  Not only that, she earned an undergrad degree from Princeton and a doctorate from Oxford.

Oxford.  To college-aged kids like me, that’s the unattainable dream university.  Not only is it a slight hop over that pond we like to refer to as the Pacific Ocean, but it’s hard to get into.  Harder than sticking a camel through an eye of a needle.  Or finding a female date two days before prom at an all-boy’s parochial school.  In other words, Whelan is pretty smart.

What she found when she wrote this book is that more men are marrying successful women, despite gender stereotypes in the past.  Sure, in the seventies, eighties, and nineties, (wow, that sounded like an adult contemporary radio station’s blurb) it was harder for a woman with a salary in the top 10% of the bracket in her age group to find a husband, that’s not so anymore.

Why?  The article says:

Men are changing.

Because their mothers probably worked outside the home, because their teachers or their professors or their pediatricians might have been women, men’s ideas of success and family include a woman with a career.

At least we know gender stereotypes are slightly less binding than they were in the past.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with not marrying.  Some women choose that.  I personally would like to settle down one day and have a family.  I don’t think my career would interfere with that (I’m still in that lovey-dovey stage where I’m pretty sure I’m going to marry my boyfriend at the moment, seeing as how we’ve already gone out for four years–the only thing that could change that is cheating and death), but it’s nice to see that my friends who will be highly successful will find a partner more easily.

If they want one.

Posted on November 17th, 2006 by Joy
Filed under: Love, Marriage