Appearance discrimination in the workplace
When I was in graduate school, we all had to write an applied research paper (which was also called a thesis paper, though realistically, we had no thesis to speak of). The goal of any such assignment in school is to pick a topic that you can stand to live and breathe for about three months while writing an 80-page paper. Somewhere along the line I got interested in appearance discrimination.
I've always been aware that how you dress can change how people act around you. Since college, I'd actually try dressing in different styles and see how people would react. Dress up one day, dress down the next, hats, coats...I had a lot of fun. If anyone was paying attention, they'd probably see me chuckling as I noted people's reactions. Appearances certainly affect the way others perceive you.
In any event, I decided to investigation appearance discrimination in the workplace for my paper. I read a lot of books and research to put together the paper. I found a lot of really interesting information. For instance, more attractive people tend to sort themselves into jobs where their looks will help them get ahead. It's a very natural sorting phenomenon where everyone eventually ends up in a job where they provide the highest value. For attractive people, they typically provide the highest value by being customer-facing, so lawyers at private firms, salespeople, etc.
You can make yourself more attractive by dressing up a bit. As it turns out, this can have a serious effect on your career. Those who dress better during interviews are more likely to be hired over someone who hasn't dressed as nice, all other things being equal.
These are just some of the interesting things I uncovered in my research. If you'd like to read the entire paper, it's available for download in PDF format: The Eye of the Beholder: Appearance Discrimination in the Workplace.
November 5th, 2008 - 17:20
Hello I hope you point me in the right direction as I think I’m being discriminated against because of my apprearance. I am a 43 year old female with four children. I eat right and stay fit and take pride in these areas. I was told by my Supervisor that the Management team says I dress to provocative and don’t want me to wear high heels. I find this ridiculous. My supervisor was as shocked at I was when she was told to address this area. I do wear form fitting clothes but they are not “painted” on and by no means “revealing.” I feel I’m being singled out because some of the other women in the office has simular tastes. One of my colleagues said it’s because of how I’m proportioned, that my body type is very sexy and some women are not comfortable with that. I feel as if that’s not my problem…oh yeah they metioned the boots are red…I don’t know what to do. If I give in to this what will be next, they don’t like the new hair color I have because it’s too bright? (if i decided to color my hair that is). We have no formal dress code in place that I know of. I work for the state and I am with a Union. What are my options?
November 5th, 2008 - 19:06
@Zaria – I’m sorry you’re having trouble, but I’m no lawyer so I can’t really give you advice on how to deal with it. You mentioned you’re a part of a union so I’d suggest talking to your union rep about the issue. Good luck!