Acknowledging appearance reduces bias when beauties apply for masculine jobs, says study

http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2014/10/07/acknowledging-appearance-reduces-bias-when-beauties-apply-masculine-jobs

Oct. 7, 2014

Past research shows physical beauty can be detrimental to women applying for masculine jobs. But belles can put the brakes on discrimination by acknowledging their looks during an interview, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder.

The paper, published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, is the first to provide a method for curtailing such prejudice against attractive women.

In the study, when an attractive woman applied for a job typically filled by men -- a construction job -- and said, “I know I don’t look like your typical applicant,” or “I know there aren’t a lot of women in this industry,” and pointed out successes on her resume, she received higher ratings from reviewers than counterparts who made no mention of their looks.

“Turns out there’s merit in the old Pantene ad, ‘Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful,’” said Stefanie Johnson, lead author of the paper and assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at CU-Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. “If a sufferer of female-beauty stereotyping addresses the issue, the perpetrator leaves behind preconceived ideas and is able to more clearly see her professional qualities.”

The acknowledgment method could work for job applicants with other types of potential stigmas like being a wheelchair user, said Johnson.

The study also identified the two main types of sexism that cause people to mentally disqualify women from masculine jobs. One, dubbed “benevolent sexism,” is paternalistic and causes individuals to see women as incapable and in need of protection from job difficulties and physical challenges or dangers. The other, dubbed “hostile sexism,” causes individuals to see women as violators of gender roles, encroaching on job turf that’s rightfully male.

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Another issue they explored during the study was unattractive women who acknowledge their looks when applying for masculine jobs, said Johnson. There was no benefit to the acknowledgment, they found.

“In fact, it made the situation worse for unattractive women when they acknowledged their looks,” said Johnson. “They received lower ratings.”

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