Want to be married? These jobs have the highest marriage rate

With the emergence of the soft life and ‘power women’, the days when men looked for wives who would spend their days barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen are long gone. To find out what qualities make marriage material these days, Saturday Magazine conducted a dipstick survey. We asked 31 men aged between 23 and 40 about the qualities in a woman that make them think about happily ever after.

Ambition and respect came right at the top of this list. A woman’s looks, behaviour standards and being family-oriented came a close second. All the men we spoke to agreed that a woman’s career choice is a reflection of her values and strengths. Yes, your career choice may be the reason you are still single.

According to the Kenyan men we spoke to, teaching is the most marriageable career. The argument is that this career actually prepares a woman for marriage and motherhood. Other than the obvious fact she is good with children, owing to the nature of her job, the men argued that a teacher is likely to be understanding and to remain cool under pressure. To add to the list, once you have settled down in marriage, a teacher will have more time to tend to the family.

“I would want my wife to be home after work every day. The fact that a teacher gets holidays off is a plus,” says Mark Wachira, 31 a nurse at a city hospital.

Due to the demands that come with these jobs, a woman in the medical field may not be able to spend ample quality time with her man and children. The men acknowledged this but still saw women working these jobs as good choices for wives. The men felt that human service jobs require a person working them to be caring and compassionate and the fact that she is a nurse or a doctor means that she is intelligent. The fact these jobs are usually stable led the men to think that a couple can build a family around them. 

Jackson Ngumba, a 32-year-old baker says that he sees doctors and nurses as safe, thoughtful and selfless. He would be happy to marry a woman in the medical field because she is used to helping others all day long and not being thanked for it; therefore, she’d be able to show appreciation for even small acts of kindness from him.

“She is however likely to be overworked and overburdened at work and the nightshifts might take a toll on our sex life,” he notes.

For some men, marriage is two partners complimenting each other. This means that a woman ought to be useful to a man. These were the men who were most welcome to the idea of having a wife working a job in finance.

“It would be perfect if she can handle our money, which isn’t my strongest point,” shared Brian Situyi, 33, a travel agent.

Ladies in business were also favourites as their jobs are flexible while marketers and saleswomen were seen as pleasant and people-friendly. Woman working in the beauty industry were also found to be desirable by virtue of the fact that they are likely to make efforts to always look good.

The unmarriageable careers

While the common feeling given off was that a relationship with a journalist would no doubt be an interesting one, most of the study subjects expressed reservations about settling down with a woman working in media. Most had an issue with the fact that she is likely to be on call and to spend lots of hours away from home. Others felt that her life attitudes are likely to be influenced by media perspectives. Others felt that she may not make a very good partner as her job comes with high stress.

“Our life may become fodder for her stories and I have a problem with a woman working around a job with many temptations, people offering her money while powerful men flirt with her all day,” argues Fred Johana, 28.

He doesn’t doubt that a journalist would make a good wife, in fact, he notes that being in that career would mean that a woman is quick thinking and intelligent. He however doubts that he has the patience to keep up with her unpredictable and demanding work schedule.

The men we interviewed spoke in awe of women in law enforcement because of the training they had to endure to get appointed. This strong personality was also what had the men hesitating when we asked the question of marriage.

“It’s fascinating when you think of it but there is something intimidating about a woman who is hardened and who carries a gun. Not that I intend to do it but I would be more comfortable living with a woman that I can subdue,” Sam Mulwa, a 34-year-old journalist admits.

Not surprisingly, the bartending career failed to do well on the test of wife material. Surprising, it wasn’t because the men rated her poorly on the moral curve. Many seemed to have no problem that a woman pours drinks for a living and many said that they would date her. The fact that she spends most of her evenings around alcohol and inebriated men made them however view her career choice as risky especially when marriage and children came into play.

“It’s not surprising that what you spend most of your time doing and the type of people that you spend this time with have a lot of bearing on the personal choices you make. Also, it’s not very stimulating intellectually and it will not be very rewarding for her or our family in the long run,” says Aggrey Mulia, a 29-year-old business owner.

“My mother would not be pleased,” Morris Rotich, 29, sums up the reason he will not be taking the bartender home.

A few men expressed reservations at the prospect of making a wife out of an artist arguing that since her work is solely based on fantasy, she may not be realistic. Techies on the other hand were seen as overly dedicated to their jobs making it easy for them to date people from work.

No negotiation on family time

During the study, we also came across an interesting section of men. Men who don’t care so much about the type of job a woman does but who refuse to compromise on family time.

Douglas Mutiho, a 35-year-old photographer, for instance, says he is open-minded and that as long as there is love and respect, the type of job that a woman does is not an issue. He however also believes in a family being together. If the job his woman does will keep her away from their family, then it is a hindrance and she would have to quit and seek an alternative that allows her time with the family.

It might be argued that most of these are just baseless stereotypes but whichever career field you are in two things are clear; it matters whether or not the nature of your job erodes your morals and if it allows you time to raise a family.

Top five marriage-friendly careers

• Teaching
• Health care
• Business owning
• Finance
• Marketing and public relations

Top five marriage unfriendly careers

• Media and entertainment
• Law enforcement
• Bar business
• Air travel
• Law