Women and the age gap between spouses: an accepted domination?

"Why do the couples formed today, with a [possible] range of unions which did not exist in the past, perpetuate the conventional image of a younger woman with an older man? [The author] examines this question from the angle of the social significance of age for men and women at the time when they decide to form a couple. He relates this to their background and situation at that time, in particular with respect to education and employment." Data are from a 1986 family history survey conducted in France.