Good looks help men in top jobs, but not women

Press, 15 May 1985, Page 44

Good looks help men in top jobs, but not women

NZPA-AP Washington Good looks can be harmful to women striving for top jobs in the business world, according to a survey of people’s attitudes toward attractiveness. Dr Madeline Heilman and a graduate student, Melanie Stopeck, of the psychology department at New York University, say their study indicates being attractive is an asset for men throughout their executive careers.

But the study, published in the “Journal of Applied Psychology,” also indicates that “being attractive can have negative consequences for women managers, even when they clearly have been successful and reached the executive level. “Their success was attributed less to ability, and they were consistently judged to be less capable than were unattractive women managers,” said the

researchers. The survey showed a reluctance among people to accept the success of attractive women as being based upon competence. Many appear to believe that such women achieve executive position for reasons other than talent, such as social graces, the study said. The researchers surveyed 113 men and women of various ages and occupations in New York City.