As an African American business woman it is often difficult to juggle my career as well as my love life. Whether some women’s standards are considered too high or not enough for others, it takes tremendous effort to find the right match.
In a recent ABC News Special the private of successful black women are addressed and has produced some shocking numbers.
According to ABC 42% of black women have never been married doubling that of white women. Furthermore there are 1.8million more black women than there are black men. However even if one man did marry one black woman it would leave 1 out of 12 women who are never going to wed.
Guest speaker comedian and actor Steve Harvey believes that while there are slim pickings of successful black men in society, there are still some good ones out there. He argues while it is always good to have standards, sometimes the best thing to do
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What is keeping African-American women from walking down the aisle?Personable yet direct, Marchand isn’t the kind of woman you find standing by passively on the sidelines of life. But you would find her, for example, at the Georgia Dome, cheering on the Atlanta Falcons pro football team.
You’ve heard of a man’s man. Marchand is the quintessential man’s woman: She appears to have it all. And, yet, she’s still single.
She has plenty of company. Forty-two percent of U.S. black women have never been married, double the number of white women who’ve never tied the knot.
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Steve Harvey: Tough Talk for Women About MenEver Wonder What Beyonce’s Thankful For?Cat Ladies: Why Do They Do It? “I look forward to the day,” Marchand said. “I look forward to being married.”
It’s just not that easy. For starters, there are 1.8 million more black women than black men. So even if every black man in America married a black woman today, one out of 12 black women still wouldn’t make it down the aisle if they hoped to marry a black man.
Let’s take 100 black men. By the time you eliminate those without a high school diploma (21 percent), the unemployed (17 percent) and those ages 25-34 who are incarcerated (8 percent), you have only half of black men, 54 percent, whom many black women find acceptable.
As a prosecutor, Marchand sees this problem firsthand every day.
“It is sad to see that the majority of the defendants that we prosecute are black males,” Marchand said. “Those numbers can be very disappointing.”
“Nightline” broached the serious dilemma with comedian-turned-relationship-guru Steve Harvey, author of the book “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man.”
Is Your Requirements Sheet Ridiculous?
“Admittedly, the selection of men is slim,” Harvey said, but “there are still a lot of good men out there who are being overlooked. … There are a lot of women, though, who are trying to match up their education level, who are trying to match up their corporate status to find somebody on the same level, and they are having trouble. That has nothing to do with manhood at all.”
Harvey says black women don’t have to settle but they may need to compromise.
“You are a corporate exec, does he have to be a corporate exec?” Harvey asked. “You make $150,000. He has to make $150,000 or above? If your requirement sheet is ridiculous, then you have to look at it.”
What “Nightline” looked at were the large numbers of professional black women who have groomed themselves for success with B.A.s, M.D.s and J.D.s. Seventy percent of them are still without the more elusive title: M-R-S.
