47% of Gen Z women seek husband, marriage, family, children: study

A new study has found that nearly half of young Gen Z women say their dream lives are the "tradwife" path, consisting of a stable, married life with kids. Less than one quarter of those surveyed said being a "girlboss" was their dream life.

The study from EduBirdie asked 2,000 women between the ages of 18 and 29 in the United States what their dream life would be among four options: "Tradwife," "girlboss," "digital nomad," and "trophy wife."

Receiving the highest response was the tradwife path, with 47 percent of young women saying that would be their dream life. EduBirdie pop culture and media analyst Julia Alexeenko wrote, "Almost half of Gen Z women prefer a calm and stable life: happily married, with kids, and perhaps a job of their own, while the man is the primary earner. They just want peace and security, without worrying about luxury or status. In a culture that often screams to want more, women seem to want less pressure instead."

"Trends like 'soft life' and an anti-hustle mindset, where people choose balance over burnout, prove that women are just tired. A stable life now just feels safer and less stressful. The traditional path is n longer seen as going backwards but as choosing a more balanced life long term."

Under a quarter of women, 23 percent, said their ideal life was that of a "girlboss." Sixteen percent said chose the "digital nomad life, where they are childfree and traveling frequently with a partner. The option with the least amount of responses was "trophy wife," at 14 percent, which was described as depending entirely on a rich partner and not working at all.