According to a 2022 study by Oxford University, women who are working are less likely to find matches on matrimonial sites than women who are not working. Diva Dhar, the doctoral candidate who conducted the experiment to test her theory, found that women who had never worked received 15 to 20 percent more interest than those who did.
Basically, out of 100 men who respond to a woman who has never worked, only 78 to 85 will respond to a working woman. Dhar spends her time researching Indian women’s participation in the labor force and how gender roles affect marriage and the lives of working women.
The experiment began with her creating 20 fake profiles on a leading matrimonial website. They were similar in age, lifestyle choices, and diet, and the only differences were caste and whether women chose to work – now and in the future – and how much they earned.
Dhar then sent invitations to men who met a certain eligibility criteria. She found that women who don’t work get a higher response from men, and those who are willing to give up their careers are next in line. Women who choose to work after marriage received fewer responses and higher earning percentages from those who did were popular.
The study concluded that since about 99 percent of Indian women marry in their 40s, there is a penalty women internalize. They do not build a career before marriage or tend to give it up immediately once they are interrupted. The university is conducting a follow-up research study with a larger sample size to further understand the situation. Their long-term goal is to reduce the bias women face through various interventions.
