No property? Forget about marriage
Over 70% of China's women want suitor to own home: Poll
SHANGHAI: More than seven in 10 Chinese women will not consider saying 'I do' unless the suitor possesses his own home, according to the results of a national survey.
The All-China Women's Federation survey released on Thursday also found that civil servants were women's top pick for their ideal partners, favoured by 41.7 per cent of respondents, followed by managers and police or soldiers.
The results show the economic pressures that Chinese women face in today's highly materialistic society, and suggest that they are aware they hold the trump cards in the singles market, the South China Morning Post reported.
The huge gender imbalance in China's younger generation due to the one-child policy means that women of marrying age are in short supply, with an estimated 24 million men predicted to be stuck in perpetual bachelorhood by 2020.
The high ranking the women gave police and soldiers probably says as much about the stability of the job as the attraction of a man in uniform.
Male respondents were less concerned about the economics of tying the knot, but still felt pressured to get on the property ladder. Just fewer than half felt owning a home was a prerequisite for marriage.
The men's top choice for their wives' profession was teaching, chosen by 38.3 per cent, followed by the jobs of civil servant and health-care worker.
The association surveyed 32,676 Chinese aged between 20 and 60 in 31 provinces and municipalities from January to last month.
While both men and women respondents ranked 'deep emotional connection' as the top reason for picking a life partner, there was a striking difference in other factors.
Women placed 'ability to work' and 'economic conditions' as their next most important criteria - the latter being marked as an important consideration by 49.7 per cent. Men, on the other hand, were more concerned about 'appearance' and 'hobbies and interests', with 54 per cent saying looks were important.
The survey's results have sparked heated online debate, with opinion fairly evenly split. Some commentators on a discussion forum on the Xinmin Evening News website questioned why buying a home was 'the man's responsibility' in an age of supposed gender equality.
Others said it was wrong to chastise women for being too focused on the economic side of marriage.
'In the 1950s, (women) married heroes. In the 60s, they married peasants; in the 70s, they married intellectuals; and in the 80s, they married businessmen. Now, women are marrying houses,' read one post. 'You can't blame women for being practical, as facing up to reality is the only way to survive.'
TOP 3 CRITERIA FOR A MATE
Women
# Deep emotional connection
# Ability to work
# Economic conditions
Men
# Deep emotional connection
# Appearance
# Hobbies and interests
Over 70% of China's women want suitor to own home: Poll
SHANGHAI: More than seven in 10 Chinese women will not consider saying 'I do' unless the suitor possesses his own home, according to the results of a national survey.
The All-China Women's Federation survey released on Thursday also found that civil servants were women's top pick for their ideal partners, favoured by 41.7 per cent of respondents, followed by managers and police or soldiers.
The results show the economic pressures that Chinese women face in today's highly materialistic society, and suggest that they are aware they hold the trump cards in the singles market, the South China Morning Post reported.
The huge gender imbalance in China's younger generation due to the one-child policy means that women of marrying age are in short supply, with an estimated 24 million men predicted to be stuck in perpetual bachelorhood by 2020.
The high ranking the women gave police and soldiers probably says as much about the stability of the job as the attraction of a man in uniform.
Male respondents were less concerned about the economics of tying the knot, but still felt pressured to get on the property ladder. Just fewer than half felt owning a home was a prerequisite for marriage.
The men's top choice for their wives' profession was teaching, chosen by 38.3 per cent, followed by the jobs of civil servant and health-care worker.
The association surveyed 32,676 Chinese aged between 20 and 60 in 31 provinces and municipalities from January to last month.
While both men and women respondents ranked 'deep emotional connection' as the top reason for picking a life partner, there was a striking difference in other factors.
Women placed 'ability to work' and 'economic conditions' as their next most important criteria - the latter being marked as an important consideration by 49.7 per cent. Men, on the other hand, were more concerned about 'appearance' and 'hobbies and interests', with 54 per cent saying looks were important.
The survey's results have sparked heated online debate, with opinion fairly evenly split. Some commentators on a discussion forum on the Xinmin Evening News website questioned why buying a home was 'the man's responsibility' in an age of supposed gender equality.
Others said it was wrong to chastise women for being too focused on the economic side of marriage.
'In the 1950s, (women) married heroes. In the 60s, they married peasants; in the 70s, they married intellectuals; and in the 80s, they married businessmen. Now, women are marrying houses,' read one post. 'You can't blame women for being practical, as facing up to reality is the only way to survive.'
TOP 3 CRITERIA FOR A MATE
Women
# Deep emotional connection
# Ability to work
# Economic conditions
Men
# Deep emotional connection
# Appearance
# Hobbies and interests
