Sun Life Direct says men from Mars, women from Venus? But only when it comes to love
7 February 2011
As Valentine’s Day approaches, the difference in attitudes between men and women towards romance have never been more apparent according to new research from Sun Life Direct. But when it comes to seeing the world, our desires are more in tune.
The survey of 200 things ‘I must do in my life’, to celebrate 200 years of the Sun Life brand, showed that being whisked off to Paris for Valentine’s Day was high at number 52 of women’s things to do. But men placed it at just number 106.
Meeting their dream partner is also higher on women’s list than men, at number 68, compared to 148th.
Women also placed renewing their wedding vows at number 99 and getting married at 104 in their ‘must do’ list. Neither appear in men’s top 200.
Matters of the heart aside, the top 10 reveals that where men and women do agree is the desire for travel and wildlife experience. In the top five for both sexes were: seeing the pyramids, (which came in at number one for both men and women), seeing the northern lights, and swimming with dolphins. Going on safari and going up in a hot air balloon were in both their top 12 activities to take part in.
It seems the priorities to achieve things change as you get older. For the under-18s in the 21st century, celebrity culture is king: meeting their idol and becoming a celebrity jostle for position in the top 10, among adrenaline sports such as skydiving.
Building their own house is key for the 35-44 age group, for those in their mid-40s, the inner novelist is itching to come out. Those reaching 55 and over dream of ticking off big travel plans – and even throwing caution (and clothes) to the wind: going skinny dipping and visiting a nude beach come in at 116th and 117th.
Mark Howes, managing director of Sun Life Direct, said: “Whether it’s matters of the heart or travel experiences, it’s clear to see just how much we all want to achieve during our lifetimes. Our expertise in helping people with their end of life planning shows us just how priorities change as we get older, but it’s interesting that travel and nature’s wonders feature so highly in the top 200 ‘must do’s’, whatever our age or gender.”
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Notes to Editors
About the research
The research was completed in December 2010 amongst 2000 UK adults by OnePoll.
About Sun Life Direct
Sun Life Direct, a trading name of AXA Wealth Services Ltd, distributes financial services plans direct to consumers. It is part of the AXA Group in the UK
About AXA
AXA UK is a part of the AXA Group. AXA Group is a worldwide leader in Financial Protection. AXA's operations are diverse geographically, with major operations in Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific area. For full year 2009, IFRS revenues amounted to Euro 90.1 billion and IFRS underlying earnings to Euro 3.9 billion. AXA had Euro 1,014 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2009.
The AXA ordinary share is listed on compartment A of Euronext Paris under the ticker symbol CS (ISIN FR0000120628 – Bloomberg: CS FP – Reuters: AXAF.PA).
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