- The findings reveal that the most eligible Bengali woman is a finance professional while the most eligible Bengali man is a judge
- Men in the tech and IT sectors are 144% more desired vs. average and women in aviation are 33% more desired vs. the average
- The age bracket of 28 to 31 years is the golden window when Bengalis are most likely to find a life partner
Kolkata, September 2023: After the successful edition of India’s Most Eligible, a country-wide study, Shaadi.com releases the first-ever edition of India’s Most Eligible Bengalis. The study explores what Bengalis look for while choosing a potential life partner. Leveraging the platform’s two-decade long matchmaking experience, serving over a million happy users, the study highlights valuable insights and statistical findings on the matchmaking preferences of Indian Bengalis.
The study is based on per-day data and was conducted on a user base of over one lakh members (both men and women) who have been active on Shaadi.com for the past year. Further, these members are Bengali men and women living in India who have been active members on the platform for at least a week in the last 12 months, making the research findings specific and relevant. The parameters include income, profession, age, and educational background among other factors that significantly impact the matchmaking process. BengaliShaadi.com has created this study after meticulous data collection and analysis and effectively covers Bengalis residing across the length and breadth of the country.
Key Highlights (all factors are comparative to the common average):
- Bengalis’ No.1 most desirable – The No.1 most desirable man is a judge and the most desirable woman is a finance professional.
- Professions that are desired – Men in tech are 144% more desired than the average, whereas women in the airlines/aviation industry are most preferred and are 33% more desired than the average.
- Age hits men harder – Contrary to the popular narrative, men find it hard to find a match after 34 years of age, while for women it does not seem to matter as much.
- Giving love a second chance – There are more than 300 Bengali-speaking members who are above the age of 60, and looking for a partner on the platform. They are a mix of singles, widowed and divorced.
- Working is cool – Unemployed men and women are seen as the least desirable. They are 87% and 21% less desired vs the average respectively.
- The desirability of a Master’s Degree in men – Men holding a Master’s or doctorate are 1.8x more desirable than those with a Bachelor’s degree.
Adhish Zaveri, VP – Marketing, Shaadi.com, said, “This study indicates that as a nation, while we’re moving in the right direction for gender equality in marriages, we still have a long way to go in terms of truly balanced relationships. Who we find desirable is the first point of establishing what this equation would really look like after marriage. The insights we’ve uncovered in this study are an honest reflection of Bengalis’ view on desirability in the context of finding a life partner. Aspects such as higher desirability for working women are strong indicators that the Bengalis are setting an example for the rest of the nation to follow.”
Methodology
Shaadi.com is India’s largest matchmaker, with over a million users experiencing the platform daily across the country. As a market leader, Shaadi.com has an in-depth understanding of the fundamentals of the matchmaking process and operates within the simple principle of interests and acceptance of those interests. To show that an individual likes someone, they send them an ‘interest.’ If that someone likes the person back, they accept their ‘interest.’ This paradigm is at the crux of Shaadi.com’s study methodology.
Study specifics
- This study has been built upon a user base of over 1 lakh members who are active on BengaliShaadi.com from July 01, 2022, to June 30 2023.
- The members have been active on the platform for at least one week during the last 12 months.
- The study is based on Bengalis residing in India.
- Of the user base, 33% are women and 67% are men.
How did Shaadi.com arrive at the numbers?
The primary metric for evaluating ‘eligibility/desirability’ is the ‘number of unique interests received by a single person.’ However, this will not fairly take into account members who have signed up last and thereby have the least number of ‘interests’ due to being present on the platform for fewer days. Owing to this, the study has rebased all numbers to ‘per day’ to eliminate this variable altogether in favour of these members. Simply put, to ensure that even newer members get fair representation in the analysis, the study selects the most eligible single based on the maximum number of ‘interests’ they receive per day.
