More Beautiful = Higher Salary?

The burden of proof remains unfounded as to whether beautiful women receive higher pay than other women in the corporate world.   Studies have proven that remarkabley attractive women receive more opportunities initially than less attractive women.

The issue prevails that although these opportunities presented valid evidence of furthering careers solely based on tlooks; it took intelligence, confidence, and motivation to remain in these corporate positions.

The Corporate Ladder and Beautification

The corporate world consists of shrewd professionals with a savvy for business. These professionals include men and women who started their corporate careers by getting their foot in the right door. According to Dr. Jen Hartstein, beauty is essential and without it a woman is less likely to find an open corporate door.

She goes on to say, “Blondes not only have more fun, but they earn higher salaries.” Her claim indicates society views blondes as more attractive than women with any other hair color. However, she conceded that although beauty opened the corporate door; it did not keep the door open. Women who find success in the corporate world required intelligence and a sharp business sense to maintain this status. The passive aggressive facade of trading on looks to get ahead although fruitful in the beginning proved inadequate in climbing the corporate ladder.

Timothy Judge, PhD who holds a management professor position at the University of Florida performed a case study involving 191 women and men. Judge states the findings of this study to reveal, “We’ve found that, even accounting for intelligence, a person’s feeling of self worth is enhanced by how attractive they are and this, in turn, results in higher pay,” [Steven W. J. Kozlowski. (May 2009). Journal of Applied Psychology]. Judge further indicates that the consensus implied that intelligence and confidence presented the illusion that an attractive women receives a higher salary than a less attractive woman.

Women who possess low self esteems and poor educational backgrounds earn significantly less. These women lack self worth and confidence, and they became their own Achilles heel. Successful corporate women are not essentially society’s ideal of beauty, but their confidence, intelligence, and self worth display an aura that is attractive to employers.

The Marilyn versus Jackie Argument

In a country where the average clothing size for women is 12/14, women often undergo plastic surgery to get ahead in the business world. Liposuction, breast augmentation, rhinoplasty, and tummy tucks are the most requested plastic surgeries, according to Tatler’s plastic surgery guide. These alterations are the result of assumptions that if a woman fits an idealist mold then she possesses the power to succeed in the life and the corporate world. This concept is essentially invalid and irrelevant to today’s society.

The 1950s ideal, that a woman is merely a sexual object and incapable of intelligent thought, produced the Marilyn versus Jackie argument. The argument validates the notion, that a woman who is blonde and presents herself as a sexual object is essentially more attractive than a raven haired woman with a high IQ and astute business sense. The same argument is valid today.

Men in management positions, in the corporate world are statistically more likely to hire a Marilyn than a Jackie. For this reason, women alter and shape themselves to match this ideal. These women undergo breast enlargement surgeries, change their hair color, and dress provocatively to get in the door.

Unfortunately, these women learn the hard way that corporate success equates to more than aesthetic appeal. The most aesthetically pleasing woman fails in the corporate world without intelligence, confidence, and a shrewd regard for business. Sexuality may open the door, but without the correct skill set the doors to advancements in the corporate world remain locked. Top corporate employers require a Jackie to represent their companies to the public, not a Marilyn.

In conclusion, looks will only get a woman so far, and yes, it is possible to receive a high earning salary in the beginning. Aesthetic appeal opens the doors to the corporate world for some women. However, successful women who earn the highest corporate salaries do so by not only looking the part, but by possessing the required traits to succeed.

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