A new study is changing how we think about marriage and education in America. For years, the story has been about women pulling ahead in higher education. Now, research shows that college-educated women are increasingly marrying the highest-earning men who do not have college degrees.
According to Fortune, this shift is reshaping who marries whom. And it is women without college degrees who are paying the price.
How the Marriage Market Is Changing
The study shows that college-educated women are "snapping up" the highest-earning men without college degrees. This leaves fewer high-earning partners for women who do not have college degrees. The result is a widening gap between non-college women and the shrinking pool of "marriageable" men.
Fortune has been covering how money shapes marriage for decades. In 1989, the magazine's Julie Connelly coined the term "trophy wife" in a cover story. That phrase became a popular way to describe wealth-driven pairings. But the new research suggests the more important story about marriage and money is happening in the opposite direction.
What This Means for Women Without Degrees
The trend is not about the wealthy elite. It is about the everyday choices of college-educated women who are now competing for the same high-earning men that non-college women might have married in the past.
As reported by Yahoo Finance, the study highlights a significant shift in the marriage market. Women without college degrees are finding fewer options among high-earning men, as those men are increasingly being married by college-educated women.
Our Take: A New Kind of Inequality
This study reveals a quiet but powerful change in American society. For decades, we talked about the "marriage gap" between college-educated and non-college-educated people. But this research shows it is not just about education levels. It is about who gets access to financial stability through marriage.
In our view, this trend could deepen economic inequality. Women without college degrees already face lower wages and fewer job opportunities. Now, they are also losing out in the marriage market. The result is a double disadvantage that could make it harder for them to build financial security.
To put it plainly, the old story was about women marrying up in education and income. The new story is about college-educated women marrying across education lines — and taking the best earners with them. That leaves everyone else further behind.
