Across 37 cultures, women rated a mate's financial prospects higher than men did — but the gap shrinks with equality

The number

Across 37 cultures — a sample of 10,047 people in 33 countries — women on average rated a partner's earning capacity and financial prospects more highly than men did. ^[1]

Females were found to value cues to resource acquisition in potential mates more highly than males.

^[1]

What it does and doesn't establish

This is a real, replicated average sex difference in stated preference — not a Western quirk or a feminist myth, which is why an honest account grants it plainly. What it does not establish is the manosphere's "hypergamy": a universal, immutable law of female nature that governs every woman without exception. It is a difference of degree, not an on/off instinct, and it is not fixed — the gap narrows as societies become more gender-equal. ^[2] An average tendency that fades with equality is not the hardwired, exceptionless law the claim describes.

Is hypergamy universal?