Most Indian women prefer men to make first move

Matchmaking service www.shaadi.com has conducted a survey of single women to understand their view on making the first move in relationship.

The online poll received over 8,600 responses from single/unmarried Indians aged between 25 and 32. There were 49 per cent women (4,214) and 51 per cent men (4,386). 

When unmarried Indians were asked "Would you ever make the first move in a relationship?", as many as 70.2 per cent women said 'No', 19.3 per cent said 'Yes' and 10.5 per cent said 'Maybe'. 

These numbers are different for men. About 90 per cent said ‘Yes', only six per cent said ‘No' and four per cent said ‘Maybe'.

When the women were asked "Why Not?", 50.3 per cent said ‘Fear of being labelled', 15.7 per cent said ‘Fear of rejection' and 34 per cent said ‘Want men to ask first'.

When women were asked "How do you think men will react?" 45.2 per cent said ‘Men will judge', 34.7 per cent said ‘He won't believe' followed by 20.1 per cent who said ‘He will be intimidated'.

When the same women were asked "What are the benefits of making the first move?", 35.1 per cent of them said ‘Will get to choose my partner', 23.7 per cent said ‘Won't need to wait' followed by 41.2 per cent who said ‘Won't lose out on good men'.

Gourav Rakshit, CEO, Shaadi.com, said in a statement: "While women stand shoulder-to-shoulder in all fields, in relationships they still wait for the man to make the first move."

"In our new campaign #LadiesFirst, we have tried to change the mindset, by asking women to make the first move in relationships. The response has been really encouraging and I hope we have been able to challenge the stereotype, and help young men and women break some of these."