Growing up your always told its the inside that counts. According to researcher the outside also counts. It used to be that men were always paid more the women just because they were men. This such as weight, facial symmetry, and hair color can all effect how much you are paid and if your even hired. Some of it has been know for awhile, like CEOs of fortune 500 companies are most likely to be men above 6 foot and things like beards make people think you're less trustworthy.
What really caught my attention was the part of the study that focused on how someone can be too pretty. It seems pretty ridiculous to me. Women who are considered extremely attractive can discriminated against in fields that are mainly dominated by men. Yet extremely attractive men were not discriminated against.
Things I learned form this: dress conservatively, wear at least some make up, practice good posture, and wear heels cause height counts just as much as looks.
What really caught my attention was the part of the study that focused on how someone can be too pretty. It seems pretty ridiculous to me. Women who are considered extremely attractive can discriminated against in fields that are mainly dominated by men. Yet extremely attractive men were not discriminated against.
Things I learned form this: dress conservatively, wear at least some make up, practice good posture, and wear heels cause height counts just as much as looks.
11 comments:
While it's interesting for this to be brought up, the more I think about it, it kind of makes sense. The majority of people judge based on appearance so I guess employers want to hire people that will bring in the most amount of business. It is, however, interesting that women who are "too pretty" are discriminated against because I thought it would be just the opposite. I would have expected for them to be much more likely to get a job. I also don't understand why very attractive women are not hired in fields dominated by men. I automatically assumed that those male dominated fields wouldn't mind the presence of a female especially if she was extremely attractive. Overall, this study shot down some of my previous thinking.
It wasn't that pretty people make more that surprised me. It was the statistic on it, for example women who were 3 inches taller than their colleagues made a certain percentage more.
I think part of the reason men wouldn't want to hire a woman who is very attractive is they're intimidated. The type of job that women were discriminated against for being too pretty were the type of jobs I imagine men who have them have really big egos. They probably don't want to be upstaged by a woman who is sooo attractive.
I'm curious to see how this applies to men. In a more straight male dominated management, does the prettiness of a guy matter? Is the question more of discrimination, or do men just want to surround themselves with beautiful women? Take me, for example. I'm gay, and am not attracted to women. But do I, in my COMPLETE honest opinion, find it flattering to be surrounded by lovely women? Totally! But then again, would I make my hiring decisions (or friendship decisions, etc) based on that? Probably not. So is it the sexual attraction at work, or simply the aesthetic? hm......
Maybe "good looking" people make more money because they are confident. When you look good, you feel good, and when you feel good you are confident in your manner. If someone seemed confident in their abilities and in the fact that they could do their job well, that would totally push me towards hiring them. I think we also tend to trust people more when they look like they are confident, and especially when they look good being confident. Beauty brings out confidence, and confidence brings out trust, and all three make success.
-Sandy Frank
Height? Now that's downright offensive... (as are other judgments on appearance, of course; height just hits home!)
Sandy: Yes I agree that "pretty people" are more confident but it wasn't just looks. It was also things like height. Discussing it last night with my mom she suggested that since you naturally have to look up at people who are taller be end up looking up to them in other ways also.
Jessia I know the height thing stinks :(
Jason: according to the article the beautiful women were sometimes not choosen because they were too beautiful. Also it said men weren't discriminated based on being too pretty. But I agree guys probably love being surrounded by beautiful women! Who wouldn't!
Image does matter (ethically...should it matter? no...but does it matter? of course!) especially in a society that is so materialistic and competetive as ours. In some ways I think people pick pretty - looking people to sell the product or represent the company to outsiders who may be interested in working with the company or buying their product. It's unfortunate, but looks essentially matter nowadays...
Alex I agree that there definitely are time when looks are extremely important for certain jobs. But what about when people get passed over for a job because there was an applicant who was prettier. It sort of reminds me of affirmative action a little bit.
I would think that pretty people would get hired more easily. I wouldn't expect that they would get paid more or in some cases discriminated against. Especially in a retail job, people will be more likely to go in a store and buy things if they see clean cut pretty people working. I can tell even at my own job at a ski shop, the more scruffy, baggy panted boys work as technicians in the back while the girls and older clean cut guys work in the front with the customers. Although we all get paid about the same, I think the whole pretty people thing is more for customer appeal and sales than anything else.
Erica- Of course looks matter, we live in a materialistic world. What I really want to know is, are the "prettier" people getting paid more for the same exact work as the less "prettier" people? In certain job settings you wouldn't necessarily know what other people are getting as a salary. So people could be unaware that its even happening.
This is an interesting article and I find it kind of true. Pretty people, or people that at least look clean cut and give off a better first impression with their appearance are more likely to get hired. In countries like China, women only get hired if they're pretty enough. Their capabilities and abilities to complete the job doesn't seem to be as important as their outer appearance. Because of this, many women get plastic surgery done in order to get a job. I'm not sure about the "too pretty" part for women in China, but it goes to show you that appearance does count, even in the workplace, where it seems like appearance wouldn't be the most important factor when employers are looking for potential employees.
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