This interpretation is interesting to me. I wouldn't have thought that there necessarily would be a negative or cynical assumption associated with a woman seeking to be matched with an older man.
But from the woman's point of view, especially if she is of a "certain age", your chances of men within 5 years of your age wanting to be matched with you goes way down. They want younger, especially, as one poster pointed out, if they are thinking about having children.
All other things being equal I would prefer a man my age, but I would get far, far less communication if I didn't open myself up to matches 10 to 15 years older. Once the match is made, I attempt to see what the real motivation is. Some men make it very clear that they want someone my age and that they have no interest in women their own age. That turns me way off. If they seem, like me, not to be obsessed with age but are simply receptive to a range, that's great. It has absolutely nothing to do with money. Period. I do expect, however, a man 15 years older to be financially stable.
Pertaining to Match, in my experience (eHarmony seemed to feel the same, but doesn’t use the same data):
I would say about one-third of women use an age range barely encompassing their own and going much higher: for instance, she will be 37 and list 35-50 for her desired match. These women usually select all the salary ranges over her own, inclusive of her own, or exclusive.
Another one-third will have a range totally over her own: for instance, she will be 29 and list 30-40 for her matches. These women are even more biased to the salary ranges only over hers.
The remainder are split between a tight range about her own age, seeking men skewing younger, or seeking extreme older men (I saw one, she was 22 and wanted men 40-60.)
It is common to find an early 30’s women, with desired matches set at 35-50; she’ll usually have the “match’s required salary” set at only the six-figure options. This was very frustrating – and it’s not like they brought anything to the table in terms of attractiveness (or anything else.)
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Using online dating as a man, you come away with the conclusion women want money more than anything, they want much older men (with money), they do not consider men making less money than they do, they do not consider men with less-prestigious occupational titles or lesser educational attainment (for bachelor’s degreed women; post-graduates are more willing to consider BS-only men), and they demand he be of greater height (often stated as her height “in heels.”)