While the Women's Federation was worried that such attitudes would reverse progress made towards women's liberation since the Communist takeover in 1949, many local girls still think of a rich husband as a short cut to an easy life, the Wenhui Daily reported. Finding a rich husband was the most important thing in my life. The questionnaire indicated that more and more young women are looking for shortcuts to high-quality lives through marriage with good men, the paper said. Universities with large numbers of female students said socialising in order to find a rich mate has become more common and many educated young women see nothing humiliating about it, the paper said. A young, fashionable Chinese woman stands in front of a trendy optical shop in Beijing.
Women become increasingly visible in China's top academic, political, economic and social circles.
Yet, nearly 30 per cent of Chinese women surveyed but the Shanghai Women's Federation see a wealthy husband as their meal ticket to a better life. However, such attitudes do not reflect the views of the majority of women in the eastern city of Shanghai. Many like Fudan University post-graduate Joy Wang, who works at an international accounting firm, say they want more from a relationship than piles of cash. I think higher education can widen people's view and women with higher education want more than money. Chinese sociologists are worried that the desire to rely on a husband for material advancement is setting back women's progress in the workplace, the paper reported.