But it helps, although a little less than one might assume. A study quantifies just how much money will help the average man improve his prospects:
Women are more likely to find men attractive if they think they have a bulging wallet, a new study has found – but for men it’s still all about the looks. The study suggests that women are four times as sensitive to salary when considering a male partner as men are when choosing a female partner.
The study, published in Evolution and Human Behaviour, used photos of men and women alongside information on the subject’s annual salary to see how it influenced their attractiveness ratings on groups in America, China, and Europe.
John Speakman, one of the authors, said: ‘A man can move himself two points higher on the attractiveness scale we used if his salary increases by a factor of ten. For a female to achieve the same two-point effect her salary would need to increase by 10,000 times.’
What’s interesting is that two points on a ten point scale is LESS than the amount a woman increases her attractiveness simply by losing weight. And, of course, it demonstrates the utter foolishness of women attempting to use their careers to attract husbands. The female business executive is reluctant to marry any lower than a Senior Vice President, but the male SVP will usually prefer to marry the pretty young trainer at the gym.