Men with lower educational qualifications and women with higher ones are more prone¹ to being single in China, researchers have shown. Women with a doctoral degree are often joked about as people of "the third gender²" in China.

近日，有相关研究人员发现，低学历男人和高学历女人在中国最容易单身。拥有博士学历的女性在中国经常被嘲讽是“第三性别人群”。

One female student said she planned to pursue a doctoral degree but her family was strongly opposed to the idea, worrying that a higher education might be an obstacle to her future family life, while her boyfriend feared he would be dumped, China Youth Daily reported.

根据中国青年报报道，一位女学生计划攻读博士，但却遭到了家人的强烈反对。家人担心更高层次的教育可能会对她将来的家庭生活不利，而她男朋友也担心会被她甩了。

Several other media reports have exposed the pressures faced by well-educated women in seeking a relationship as they were assumed to be lacking in femininity and attractiveness.

其他几家媒体也报道了高学历女性在恋爱方面遭遇很大的压力。因为她们经常会被误认为缺乏女性气质和魅力。

Chen Jinkuan, a teacher of social psychology³ at Zhengzhou University in Henan Province, said studies show women with a higher education find it as difficult as men with lower educations to find a partner.

河南省郑州大学社会心理学教师陈佳宽表示，调查结果显示，高学历女性和低学历男性一样不好找对象。

Surveys also show men are generally willing to get married to women who have a similar education level and are daunted⁴ by women with better educational and work qualifications and knowledge.

调查还发现，男性更愿意和自己教育层次差不多的女性结婚，而对于学历、工作能力都比自己优秀的女性，他们大多会敬而远之。

The report called for gender equality and more support and respect for women in seeking higher education.

该报道呼吁性别平等，并且呼吁大家对于那些寻求更高学历的女性给予更多的支持和尊重。