“How come there are no ugly CEOs?” I asked my husband as I flipped through the latest Forbes magazine.
“What do you mean there are no ugly CEOs? Have you seen …”. I am going to leave out the names he mentioned for obvious reasons. 
It is the hard work and intelligence that matters, not how beauty. He answered.
I thought he was being naive. So I decided to ask you, my readers. You agreed with me via the poll I have been conducting for the last 10 days.
Beauty and Success : Poll results
The results are overwhelmingly biased towards beauty. 84% of the 180 people who took the poll said beauty affects a person’s success, wealth or power in life.
Consider this -
You have two qualified candidates for a job where you are the hiring manager. Both candidates have the same skills, both of them did very well in the interview. The only difference is, one of them is fat and ugly, the other candidate is beautiful. In an ideal scenario, beauty won’t even come into the picture.
After their skills match, you will move on to other soft skills. Will they fit the team? Who will work better with other members of the team? But ideal scenarios are called ideal for a reason, most of the time, the beautiful person will end up bagging the job.
Is it discrimination? Yes. Did the hiring manager purposely discriminate? Mostly probably not. Unless the manager really hired the person because he/she was personally attracted to the candidate, in that case one of them is going to get fired soon enough, it is a moot point to discuss that case. So lets come back to the unintentional favoritism shown toward the more beautiful candidate.
In his/her mind the manager might have equated a beautiful smile to a pleasant demeanor. Other coworkers who spoke to the candidate might have seen that and felt that the person would work well with the team.
So how much of an effect does beauty have on success, happiness and earning potential?
Beauty and Success : What the scientific community thinks?
This is such a socially interesting topic, so as you might expect there have been plenty of studies done on this. Looks like beautiful people do have it easier, much easier.
Each inch in height corresponds to $789 extra in pay each year. An extra 6 inches for example, results in an extra $4734 in annual income. Prof. Judge, Univ. of Florida
- Tall people get paid more. Not just in management and sales positions, but even in less social positions like programming and engineering. This is applicable to both men and women. The height effect didn’t stop with pay, but influenced (perceived) work performance too. In an analysis done by Prof. Judge of University of Florida, supervisors felt tall workers were more effective employees.
An attractive employee earns $230,000 more in lifetime earnings than an average looking employee. Daniel Hamermesh, author of Beauty Pays.
- Generally, physically attractive people earn more money than average looking folks. And very plain looking people earn less than average.
- Thin women and middle-of-the-scale men are paid higher than their obese counterparts.
- Attractive people are in general happier.
- A Chinese study showed that husbands of attractive women earn more than the husbands of unappealing women, asserting that women have traditionally traded looks for economic support in a marriage.
Handsome quarterbacks make more money. Players with facial symmetry received 8% more in pay than their slightly “irregular” counterparts. Collected from 1995-2006 players, New York Times.
- We assume what is beautiful is good, this is called the “Halo effect” and has been studied to death (and proved right). We tend to think beautiful people are funny, friendly, interesting, intelligent and generally much warmer even though we don’t know anything about them past this first superficial evaluation.
- Attractive people are more desired as life partners.
- Good looking people make better persuaders.
- Various studies show that attractive people have an easier time getting loans, receive milder prison sentences and higher damages in simulated legal proceedings.
I do not think beauty makes everything easier. For example, I can easily see genuine accomplishments of a beautiful & intelligent woman getting dismissed as something she would have gotten via her looks instead of her skills. But the influence of beauty in work and life is too strong to ignore.
Now that I have read all this studies and researched this subject, I should go back and correct my statement that – Attractiveness influences success instead of beautiful people have it easier.
Beauty and Success : What do I think?
- Beauty does have economical value. It is not because people are shallow (some are, but I am talking about the general population, in which case, most are not). I think it stems from the simple fact that we are genetically hard-wired into preferring attractive (especially symmetrical) looks. This way of choosing a mate proved very effective in figuring out whether the partner we are seeking is fertile or trustworthy. In fact, there is a saying in my home country that curvy women are more fertile. We evolved using cues like this to ease our survival and we are now sticking with it. We might have grown a lot, we are much more intelligent and we might have thousands of other traits that could be desirable in someone. Even so, we tend to use the age old cue of beautiful is always good.
- Confidence : More than the physical beauty, I think what influences others is the confidence that comes along with beauty. Attractive people are more confident and confidence is commonly used as a measure of competence. So it is not a direct relation, but a strong relation nonetheless.
- Presentation : Dress for success. I don’t wear makeup, I rarely wear skirts, and I don’t even own heels. At the same time, I know that to move to a director level position, I need to both be confident and project confidence, and part of that is a “professional” appearance.
- Fitting : Our fashion industry caters to beautiful people. A very fit girl wearing slacks and a button down blouse looks neat, sharp and professional, where as the same slacks and blouse in a plus size worn by a fat girl looks very sloppy. The clothes are cut out to look flattering on a fit person. It is very important to find clothes that fit.
- Life is a competition : Height and attractiveness may not be deciding factors, but they certainly are *influencing* factors, even conscious ones. Life is and always will be a competition. Why not leverage every possible advantage you have? Keep in shape, eat right, be well-dressed and well-groomed. Even if you’re not a perfect ’10′ (whatever that means) why handicap yourself if you don’t need to? Presentation is key.
- Self-awareness of beauty : A beautiful person has experienced being the cynosure of many eyes. That naturally feeds into the confidence they feel about the image they project.
- Social awkwardness : If you were over weight as a child you were the butt of many jokes and taunts. No matter how much you try to let it bounce off you, it does affect your psyche and make you socially awkward.
So beauty absolutely makes it easier for people to succeed.
Should we resent attractive people? Absolutely not. They have their own price to pay. What we could do, is to do everything in our control to prove our worth. I am not an attractive person and I don’t dress fashionably either. As a result, a lot of times, I feel awkward and want to just hide myself in a group. I should learn to change that. I could, for instance,
- Dress nicely and find fitting clothes.
- I know I don’t have much confidence, so I am planning on re-starting my Toastmasters club. Anything I could do to boost my confidence can only be good for my career.
- Know my strengths and know how to highlight them. Sometimes, it doesn’t work to be humble. I should learn to speak up.
Source : Fast Company
I think it comes down to using your competitive edge, whether it is beauty, smarts or both.
What do you think? Do you agree that beauty has an economical value? How much influence do you think it has? Should we be concerned or do something about it? May be “tax the beautiful” ?
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
I think you hit it with the last sentence about just coming do to your competitive edge no matter what that may be. May be you know the manager or CEO, is it fair no but you’d be a fool not to use it. I think when it comes to looks as the last resort if all talents are the same you look at they are a representation of you company.
There’s no doubt that based on numerous studies beauty does have a positive impact on job advancement, salary and other factors. I think this is especially true in jobs such as sales, marketing and advertising, not to mention the entertainment field. And given the psyche of the human race I don’t think there is any way around this so we will just have to live with it. A beauty tax…hmmmm
Good stuff – I did an article on beauty and earnings, but lately I’ve been trying to work it into a political article. Some studies I found were this one on familiarity and voting preferences and Slate’s review of the topic.
There is some interesting work on the ideal of ‘competence’ as a physical trait in there as well!
I really love the presentation and style of your posts, Suba. Sure, physical attractiveness and personality plays a part, but who cares? Don’t let it handicap yourself or use it as an excuse. Too many people accept mediocrity because they don’t have the looks or charisma of a 10. Doesn’t matter. We can still present ourselves the best we can and improve ourselves the most we can. Hell, in a couple of decades, everyone’s looks will be remoldable anyways.
Awesome post as usual. I totally agree. We need to use our edge as much as we can. Dress good and show your strengths. It could be your key to success.
Have you seen the documentary “freakonomics”? It is really interesting. They did a study on names and the value of a name and what it meant to peoples lives when it came to opportunity, jobs, etc. You should check it out.
Human beings will act like human beings. Not really surprising. Maybe not fair. But as Miss T says, you need to recognize it and not let it slow you down or use it as an excuse.
And sorry we have enough taxes, though that one probably wouldn’t apply to me.
Self confidence can be shown by simply standing up straight, and looking people in the eye. That always gets my attention as it is rare these days-maybe too much time on computers.
people judge by so many different things that really don’t make sense at all. I was watching a tv documentary one day where they did a study on whether a name of a person dictates how much money they make. And studies have shown that an ethnic name makes far less money than an American name. Go figure.
I’d say we get a “fat tax” implemented before a “beauty tax,” though good-looking people can be very dangerous indeed. I don’t think I’d support either, but I could be convinced.
interesting topic.
Well written and informative. It isn’t necessarily fair or unfair. It is just the way it is. I can wish forever that I was 6’5″, but I need to leverage my best assets regardless of my looks and height.
I’ve started to notice that tall is good in business every time I’m at a company function and I’m at best, average height at six foot.
Personality also really has importance in success, but I think the focus on the whole beauty tends to overshadow. If you think about it, people who are sullen all day are rarely successful.
Beauty is a form of a non-financial asset, and it’s only natural (not morally right) that people who are attractive are rewarded for it.
As a person that has tipped waitresses based on attractiveness, i am firm believer that beauty plays a major role in success. Although beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I am a believer that anyone can be made attractive, and it is a matter of if you look well kept and as if you care for your appearance, or like a homeless person who has no reason to care. Appearance plays a major role in our society.
Great, in-depth article. I’m always fascinated by beauty, but I count myself lucky to not be a “10″. In my own personal experience, a woman who is off-the-charts beautiful ends up in a totally different life and people have certain expectations of such beauty that are not in line with my own values. Men who are super uber-hot are the same way. Have you ever tried to have a conversation with such a guy? He might be nice to look at, but he can’t hold my attention for more than a few minutes.
Us “normies” can do what you mentioned though to make sure that sloppy appearances never hold us back from what we want financially or career-wise!
Interesting! I am tempted to say that looks don’t matter but will have to keep my piece in the face of evidence. I also remember that someone said thirty years ago that the world will be run b y ‘tall men with hair’. I still believe that the way people look is still much more important in the US than the UK. Apart fro that, I’ll have to get myself in gear and do something about me confidence and appearance (a lot is a matter of confidence though; I do know people who are not very good looking but you tend to forget this when they start talking).
I think looks definitely matter more for women than man. Women can be attracted to men for their personality whereas looks tend to always win for the man.
Very well researched post. I do think it all comes down to confidence. When that is developed throughout your life by people gazing at you or paying you compliments, it is only natural that this confidence comes into play in other parts of your life. A less attractive person can become just as confident, but they have to work at it as they have not been groomed to be confident.
Haha, that Mental Attractiveness vs. Physical Attractiveness graph is funny (and true). I agree with you that beauty gives you an advantage towards success.
A couple of thoughts….
I think “attractiveness” has value. Many things make women attractive from the nice fitting clothes to being in shape…to even fertility. There a bunch of studies that show that men are more attracted to women when they are in their fertile time.
It is AMAZING what a haircut or properly fitting clothes can do for a man or women..just check out “what not to wear”.
I was just recruiting an an engineering school and it was an open house deal, so I got to observe a bunch of college kids walking around in suits. Did I judge by the way they looked? Absolutely. The good news is that a lot of the things I was judging a person on are skills that can be learned or things that can be changed. We were looking for a technical sales position, so interpersonal skills were very important (and those can be learned…really, they can). I used to be very shy and have very low self esteem. Nowadays I hide it very well.
Also, the physical stuff…guys…get a haircut, comb your hair, wear a suit that isn’t 3 sizes too big, pop a breath mint or brush your teeth before talking to a recruiter..in fact, we were giving away breath mints as our freebee and the ones who needed it most didn’t take them. I also had people so nervous that they were sweating bullets while talking to me. Bring a handkerchief and wipe your brow before talking to me. It’ll be less obvious that you’re nervous.
Ladies – an ally mcbeal suit is not appropriate. I don’t want to see 3 feet of leg whether you’re skinny or if you have weight to lose. And yes, it is distracting not only for men but women to look at all that skin. Take time on your hair and makeup..but don’t wear too much. Don’t wear too much perfume.
Everyone can benefit from smiling and having good manners. Thanking people for their time, etc.
In general, I think the overweight thing has as much to do with self confidence and attitude as it does a person’s appearance. The overweight students were very visibly self conscious with slouching shoulders and making less eye contact as if they wanted to disappear in the background and not be seen. Oh no, she’s looking at me because I’m fat…(No actually, I’m not. I’m trying to find people who will look back at me and say hello.) I think there were some guys that came to our booth on the heavy side but I didn’t even notice it because they weren’t drawing attention to their size like I saw some other people unconsciously doing.
Great article as always. The good news is that most people with these kinds of issues can do a lot with appearance and personality to offset their looks if they choose to. There are many things in your control that will put you ahead of the game.
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