<p>In their study, researchers at Colorado University found that attractive women were discriminated against when applying for jobs considered "masculine" and for which appearance was not seen as important to the job.<br /><br />Such positions included job titles like manager of research and development, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction supervisor, the study found. "In these professions being attractive was highly detrimental to women. In every other kind of job, attractive women were preferred. This wasn't the case with men which shows that there is still a double standard when it comes to gender," Stefanie Johnson, who led the study, said.<br /><br />The study, co-authored by Prof Robert Dipboye of the University of Central Florida, found that attractive men, however, suffered no similar discrimination and were always at an advantage.<br /><br />According to Johnson, beautiful people still enjoy a significant edge. They tend to get higher salaries, better performance evaluations, higher levels of admission to college, better voter ratings when running for public office and more favorable judgments in trials.<br /><br />"We found that attractiveness is beneficial for men and women applying for most jobs, in terms of ratings of employment suitability. However, attractiveness was more beneficial for women applying for feminine sex-typed jobs than masculine sex-typed jobs," he said.<br /><br />In one of the two experiments in the study, subjects were given a list of jobs and photos of applicants and told to sort them according to their suitability for the job. They had a stack of 55 male and 55 female photos.<br /><br />In job categories like director of security, hardware salesperson, prison guard and tow truck driver, attractive women were overlooked. In each of these jobs appearance was perceived to be unimportant. Attractive women tended to be sorted into positions like receptionist or secretary.<br /><br />"One could argue that, under certain conditions, physical appearance may be a legitimate basis for hiring. In jobs involving face-to-face client contact, such as sales, more physically attractive applicants could conceivably perform better than those who are less attractive.Z<br /><br />"However, it is important that if physical attractiveness is weighed equally for men and women to avoid discrimination against women," Johnson said.</p>
<p>In their study, researchers at Colorado University found that attractive women were discriminated against when applying for jobs considered "masculine" and for which appearance was not seen as important to the job.<br /><br />Such positions included job titles like manager of research and development, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction supervisor, the study found. "In these professions being attractive was highly detrimental to women. In every other kind of job, attractive women were preferred. This wasn't the case with men which shows that there is still a double standard when it comes to gender," Stefanie Johnson, who led the study, said.<br /><br />The study, co-authored by Prof Robert Dipboye of the University of Central Florida, found that attractive men, however, suffered no similar discrimination and were always at an advantage.<br /><br />According to Johnson, beautiful people still enjoy a significant edge. They tend to get higher salaries, better performance evaluations, higher levels of admission to college, better voter ratings when running for public office and more favorable judgments in trials.<br /><br />"We found that attractiveness is beneficial for men and women applying for most jobs, in terms of ratings of employment suitability. However, attractiveness was more beneficial for women applying for feminine sex-typed jobs than masculine sex-typed jobs," he said.<br /><br />In one of the two experiments in the study, subjects were given a list of jobs and photos of applicants and told to sort them according to their suitability for the job. They had a stack of 55 male and 55 female photos.<br /><br />In job categories like director of security, hardware salesperson, prison guard and tow truck driver, attractive women were overlooked. In each of these jobs appearance was perceived to be unimportant. Attractive women tended to be sorted into positions like receptionist or secretary.<br /><br />"One could argue that, under certain conditions, physical appearance may be a legitimate basis for hiring. In jobs involving face-to-face client contact, such as sales, more physically attractive applicants could conceivably perform better than those who are less attractive.Z<br /><br />"However, it is important that if physical attractiveness is weighed equally for men and women to avoid discrimination against women," Johnson said.</p>