Come 2010, there will indeed be less marriages or marriage at later ages. But more so, I see the trend of cross-cultural marriages emerge. In Singapore, it is not difficult to spot couples of different races or nationalities walking down busy Orchard Road (a popular shopping belt). Being a metropolitan city, people from all over culminate in our tiny island for various purposes ranging from work to leisure. 

However, this trend is not new to Singapore. Historically, Singapore has seen cross-cultural marriages between Malays and Chinese (forming the unique Peranakan culture where males are known as Babas and females Nonyas). Due to our former status as an English colony, marriages between Europeans and Singaporeans are not rare. Thus, we have a good number of Eurasians here as well. 

With the constant exposure to cultures all over the world through advance mass media such as the Internet and films, our young people today gain easy access to friends everywhere and this will only serve to encourage marriage across cultures and national boundaries.

Singapore Government has recently embarked on a program to encourage Singaporeans to marry early and give birth to help balance our aging and declining population. When the policy kicks into place with its many incentives, I foresee that marriages in Singapore will not decrease so much as it will in the more advanced nations.

Females all over the world are placing their careers on a higher pedestal and this is understandable. After all, there is a higher standard of education nowadays and women are no longer contented to playing docile, domestic roles. There is a demand for independence and respect in all aspects of life.

There is almost a renewed set of values in the young women today and soon, we will see this take effect on their choice of marriage. Men with lower education or wages or even taste for the finer things in life (come on, let's get real!!) will definitely lose out as women speak out and make their demands known. The fight for equality never ends.