Marrying Up Is On Its Way Down

The days of Anna Nicole Smith wannabes marrying ancient billionaires for their fortunes may be over.

New data collected by the Institute for Public Policy Research shows that a dramatic shift has occurred in how women choose their partners. The study examined marriages over four decades, analyzing patterns among women born in 1958, 1970, and between 1976 and 1981.

Gone are the days of enterprising women climbing the social ladder by marrying successful, Don Draper-like businessmen. These days, fewer and fewer women are marrying men who come from wealthier backgrounds than their own. Instead, the study found a small rise in the proportion of women marrying men of a lower socio-economic class, and a larger rise in women picking partners of a similar social status.

Of the participants born in 1958, 38% married a man from a higher class and over one-third married a spouse from a comparable background. Only 23% partnered up with someone from a poorer class.

As early as 1970, it's clear that the times they were a-changin'. The number of women entering "aspirational marriages" dropped by 5% (winding up at 33%), and the number marrying into the same class neared the halfway mark at 45%. The trend continued through the following years of the experiment, winding up at 16% of women born between 1976 and 1981 marrying someone with higher status and 28% marrying a partner in possession of more humble means.

Anastasia de Waal, deputy director of Civitas: The Institute for the Study of Civil Society, expressed excitement over the study's findings. "It is a very positive thing in terms of women's equality," she said. "Once marrying was about obtaining financial independence from you parents and replacing it with financial stability from your husband." Now, however, women "have more financial independence and now longer waiting for husbands to give them money to buy what they need."

The data also suggests that women are becoming better educated, and that one of the many ways in which their education is paying off is choosing better marriage partners. With money no longer being a driving force in choosing a spouse, women can prioritize more important qualities like companionship.

But the implications of this trend may not all be good, says the IPPR's director, Nick Pearce. "This shift has implications for inequality, as well-educated, higher earners marry each other and then pass on the fruits of their combined success to their children." If this trend continues, he fears, social mobility may decrease.