The Smart Women Myth

Good news for career women: The theory that they can't succeed as well with their families is hogwash. It is based on outdated information and misinterpreted statistics. The truth is that smart, successful women marry at the same rates as all other women, and once married, they have children at the same rates as well. Why the change? Men and women are studying and working side by side at ever-increasing rates. Women make up more than half of college graduates and are reaching parity in most professional schools as well. And this generation of men is thrilled with the idea that they can share financial responsibilities with equally capable women. Men welcome this new partnership: 71% of men who earn in the top 10% for their age group or hold graduate degrees say a woman's career or educational success makes her more desirable as a wife; 68% report that smart women make better mothers; and 90% say they want to marry, or are already married to, a woman who is at least as intelligent as they are.