By Lekshmy Sankar | 17-Jul-2018
I was having lunch with two of my friends (who happen to be male) the other day, and one of them who also happens to be in the IT field mentioned that he is insanely busy these days interviewing people for new positions. I asked if he saw an increase in women applying for jobs and this was his response: "Women? Yea I'm interviewing one this week, and I hope she is not good looking."
I genuinely didn't know how to respond, so I said something like: "What are you talking about?" He explained how pretty girls mean drama within the team and he does not want to deal with drama. My other friend tried to justify the statement by telling me something along the lines of: "You are beautiful - I'm sure you know what he means. Other women get jealous, and men are not as efficient with a pretty girl around."
I called them both idiots and told them to stop discriminating people based on looks. They are both good friends, so I was able, to be honest, and yell at them.
The thing is, these guys are not some sexist fools who would discriminate against women or men. They are lovely gentlemen who I have personally witnessed standing up and taking steps to help women progress in the IT field, so this had to be a matter of unconscious bias. I naturally wanted to dig further. This isn't about women but instead about looks. Do looks matter when you hire? Do looks make it harder to progress in your career? Are there specific jobs that one can be 'too pretty' for? It turns out the answer is a resounding "yes" - I was
reading a couple of studies on
'Organizational Behavior and Human Performance', that established attractive women face discrimination when applying for specific jobs (mostly managerial). The studies called it the 'beauty is beastly effect.' To be honest, it was the first time I have heard of it.
So how do we become conscious about the topic and make sure we don't discriminate?
- Make it aware - when I brought up how it's not ok to discriminate someone based on looks, my friends immediately noticed what they did and realized that they were wrong. The best way to fight unconscious bias is to make the bias conscious, so the individual understands what they're doing.
- Stop making assumptions - how much do you hate it when someone judges you based on your looks or what you wear? Why do it to others? Why think of a good-looking person as anything but who they are - another voice, another resource, another individual who brings something valuable to the table? The same is true of anyone - recognize them for who they are and what contributions they offer.
- Consistent brand - I think you can be strategic in your appearance. Act and dress how you want to be seen.
- Great attitude - I believe that it doesn't matter what you look like as long as you have a great attitude.
- Culturally consumed by beauty - with Instagram and gossip pages, we are culturally wired to care about beauty. But we can make the conscious decision to care more about people's work and their attitude.
Is treating someone differently based on their looks discrimination? Is it even possible to discriminate based on the symmetry of someone's face? The thing is, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We can either give in to these stereotypes or take the step to help others rise. What do you think? Do you think looks matter at work?
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