Research reveals why today's women are 'marrying down'

From the Daily Mail with some examples including Madonna and or even Queen Elizabeth's daughter Zara Phillips:

To the great delight of the vast majority of men, it appears the days of women setting their sights on marrying ‘above themselves’ are over.

The attractions of the Mr Darcys of this world are waning as women become better educated and better paid, research has found.

Indeed modern women could hardly be further from the likes of Pride and Prejudice’s Elizabeth Bennet and her scheming to net Mr Darcy – not just the man she loved but, crucially, a wealthy aristocrat.

Analysing how female aspirations have changed over the past 50 years the researchers found women in their late twenties and early thirties are increasingly marrying ‘beneath themselves’ by opting for men of lower social classes.

The study by the Institute for Public Policy Research adds weight to the idea that today’s economically independent women are freer to marry for love rather than to further themselves.

The think-tank says the proportion of those ‘marrying down’ – such as the Queen’s granddaughter Zara Phillips who is now wed to former England rugby player Mike Tindall – has exceeded those ‘marrying up’ for the first time. The study found 28 per cent of women born between 1976 and 1981 married men who were less educated and worse paid than them. In 1958, the figure was 23 per cent.

Of the women born between 1976 and 1981, only 16 per cent married up and more than half (56 per cent) married someone of the same class, defined by the IPPR as someone in a similar occupation.

I do wonder if these ladies have such a problem finding that ideal male that they would finally break down and settle for a man who is "beneath" them. I wonder how many women wait until they reach menopause before they finally settle down with someone "beneath" them.

Either way I hope both parties know what they are getting themselves into!

Via Newsalert!