SHANGHAI: Financial security in marriage ranks high among women in China.
That's according to the latest Chinese marriage report which shows that nearly 80 per cent of Chinese women look for partners who earn twice what they do.
And more than half of them want full access to their future husbands' salary.
Xizhiyuan match-making company has been in business for 13 years.
They have noticed that how much a man earns has become more important to women in recent years.
Now more than half of their female customers ask for dates with men who make at least 50 per cent more than them.
Jiang Weilan, Manager of Xizhiyuan Match-Making, said, "Young people, particularly women, tend to compete with each other. In the past, they were happy with dates who earn slightly more than they do, but now it's no longer the case. For example, she is paid 10,000 yuan a month, she require her date to earn 15,000 or 20,000 a month. 50 per cent to 60 per cent more in salary is a very common requirement now. At least that's what we found from our clients. Even if they ask for doubled salaries, it's still quite normal."
According to the 2012 Annual Chinese Marriage Report, 77 per cent of urban Chinese women want a husband whose income is at least double theirs.
Sociologists say this is a reflection of the income disparity that still exists in China.
Lu Xiaowen, Vice Director of Institute of Sociology at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said, "We still face the unfairness that women are paid less than men in a lot of cases. Practically, women will naturally look for men who have higher income. This is a fact of our society. Besides, our income has increased significantly over the past few years, and the expectation of a further increase is high. Therefore, women now have a high standard when it comes to their future husbands' income."
The report also shows women now favour men with a stable income more than those who own an apartment.
The report found 89 per cent of women chose stable income as a must for marriage, whereas 68 per cent think a property decides who is qualified to be a husband.
Experts believe this shows a growing healthy trend, dubbed "naked marriage".
Lu Xiaowen added, "Naked marriage means when young people get married, they don't require an apartment or big saving. Instead, they work hard together to build their own home. A key factor in this equation is they both need a stable career and income so that they can mutually work towards their goal together."
Another interesting fact in the report - more than half of Chinese women want to control their husband's salaries after marriage.
Although men are not in favour of this idea, experts believe letting the wife act as family CFO could bring stability and harmony to a home.
Most women do, in fact, run the household and may be more equipped to deal with family expenditures.
- CNA/de
China women look for financial security in marriage
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China women look for financial security in marriage
