The myth that being really attractive can help you in the working world

[glass_of_merlot]

Why are people so focused on looks. Talent and work ethic should be all that matters.

[DorianRo]

Originally Posted by glass_of_merlot

Why are people so focused on looks. Talent and work ethic should be all that matters.

Thats the way it SHOULD be. But its not the reality of the workplace. In fact, those aspects probably come last in line when it comes to success

[glass_of_merlot]

I guess it depends what line of work we are talking about. My husband for instance has always been very successful, and even though I love him more than anything , he is no "super model".

However, he has an amazing work ethic and no matter what job he has interviewed and been hired for, he has always excelled.

I also think confidence is important.

[ohhwanderlust]

I honestly don't know how I objectively rate in terms of looks, probably average I guess. But it seems to come to people (as in when meeting strangers) as a shock that I'm a software engineer. People tend to peg me as a student, or as an executive assistant or in marketing/sales.

Even where I've worked, people are really friendly with me, but it takes a while for them to take me seriously.

Maybe I come off too bubbly. I've had people joke about how I look like a fairy. o.O

Or maybe it's because I'm not a 'bro'. So, it's not just hot sexy women who deal with this. I think it's women in general in certain fields. .

[move4ward]

I guess, it depends on the type of job. Attractive women were cast into traditional female roles, instead of traditionally male jobs like a director of finance or mechanical engineer.

Attractive women 'discriminated against when applying for masculine jobs' - Telegraph

Originally Posted by Telegraph

Women considered to be good looking faced a struggle when they applied for jobs more usually associated with men or positions for which appearance was not seen as being important to the job.

Such positions included job titles like manager of research and development, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction supervisor, according to the study.

Originally Posted by Telegraph

Attractive women tended to be sorted into positions like receptionist or secretary, according to the findings in the Journal of Social Psychology.

[macroy]

Originally Posted by glass_of_merlot

Why are people so focused on looks. Talent and work ethic should be all that matters.

It's called being human. And we are conditioned by our own surroundings. So bias will always be a factor in everything we do.

[NJFillet]

I think that in the case of an attractive woman, she really needs to step up her game and show strong competence/intelligence/performance. Unfortunately if the superiors are male-dominated, she may get attention for the wrong reasons, but never really get the quality of work or recognition she deserves or that her less attractive peers are getting.