[bikepacker67]

Women, by contrast, did not show a marked difference in their attraction to men who might work above or below them.

Bullshyt!

[Monterrosa-24]

"Women, by contrast, did not show a marked difference in their attraction to men who might work above or below them. "

You are right in that the above sentence is absolute rubbish. Even in college women's dating habits/choices center on achievers and it triples after college. I'm sure these statistics of Dowd's come from women's feelings and not their actions.

[Enterprise]

I don't have a source, but I have read that women are attracted to men "above" them, but avoid men "below" them. I guess a practical example would be the male executive who would marry a secretary, and a female executive who would not marry a window cleaner.

[An American In Dairyland]

Women, by contrast, did not show a marked difference in their attraction to men who might work above or below them.

It is a well known fact that women only want to "marry up" that is, to men who earn more than they do. This is why professional women (doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc.) often "can't find" a "proper" mate.

It is men who are willing to marry down (marry women who earn less than they do or are in a "lower" social class)like the Rockefeller who married a family maid.