Past research shows physical beauty can be detrimental to women applying for masculine jobs. But belles can put the brakes on discrimination by acknowledging their looks during an interview, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder.
The paper, published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, is the first to provide a method for curtailing such prejudice against attractive women.
In the study, when an attractive woman applied for a job typically filled by men -- a construction job -- and said, 鈥淚 know I don鈥檛 look like your typical applicant,鈥� or 鈥淚 know there aren鈥檛 a lot of women in this industry,鈥� and pointed out successes on her resume, she received higher ratings from reviewers than counterparts who made no mention of their looks.
鈥淭urns out there鈥檚 merit in the old Pantene ad, 鈥楧on鈥檛 hate me because I鈥檓 beautiful,鈥欌�� said Stefanie Johnson, lead author of the paper and assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at 抖阴旅行射-Boulder鈥檚 . 鈥淚f a sufferer of female-beauty stereotyping addresses the issue, the perpetrator leaves behind preconceived ideas and is able to more clearly see her professional qualities.鈥�
The acknowledgment method could work for job applicants with other types of potential stigmas like being a wheelchair user, said Johnson.
The study also identified the two main types of sexism that cause people to mentally disqualify women from masculine jobs. One, dubbed 鈥渂enevolent sexism,鈥� is paternalistic and causes individuals to see women as incapable and in need of protection from job difficulties and physical challenges or dangers. The other, dubbed 鈥渉ostile sexism,鈥� causes individuals to see women as violators of gender roles, encroaching on job turf that鈥檚 rightfully male.
For the study, 355 participants were divided into three groups. Each group looked at fictitious applications for a construction job opening.
The first group -- male and female undergraduate business students -- looked at four candidates, one of whom was either an attractive or unattractive woman. The rest of the applicants were men. All of the applications included a photo, a written interview statement and a resume, which the participants rated for employment suitability.
Participants in the first group received different versions of either the attractive or unattractive woman鈥檚 application. A third of the women鈥檚 applications acknowledged their appearance; a third acknowledged their sex; and a third acknowledged neither. The raters who received the application of the attractive woman who had acknowledged her appearance or sex gave higher marks than those who received the application of the attractive woman who hadn鈥檛 acknowledged either.
Then a second group of male and female undergraduate business students participated in a similar review process. However, there was only one application from an attractive woman who acknowledged both her appearance and her sex in her interview statement.
This second part of the study sought to uncover the reasons why acknowledgment improves the ratings of attractive women. The participants were asked to rate how masculine and how spiteful they thought the attractive applicant was, as well as how suitable she was for the job.
This revealed two underlying types of sexism at play in the interview: hostile sexism in which attractive women were seen as violating their gender role when applying for masculine jobs, creating the impression that they鈥檙e cold and belligerent; and benevolent sexism, in which they鈥檙e seen as too feminine to do the job because of their beauty. Acknowledging the female-beauty stigma mitigates both, said Johnson.
鈥淭he participants鈥� perceptions of how bitchy she was decreased and their perceptions of how masculine she was increased because of the acknowledgment she鈥檇 given in the interview statement,鈥� said Johnson. 鈥淩ecognizing the fact that her appearance was atypical reduced the violation of her gender role and conveyed that she was capable of performing the job duties.鈥�
The third group -- all male construction workers -- completed a survey that gauged whether they were sexist and which type of sexism they represented. The participants reviewed a similar application package as the other groups, except that the attractive woman and her interview were presented in a video rather than in a photo and written statement.
This part of the study aimed to show how acknowledgment affected the ratings of the two different types of sexists, according to Johnson. It influenced both.
鈥淚f you score higher on hostile sexism and the beautiful female applicant acknowledges her appearance and sex, you rate her less negatively -- you still might hate her for being there, but a little less. If you鈥檙e a benevolent sexist and she acknowledges, you rate her more positively,鈥� said Johnson.
Examples of other jobs that could be considered masculine are engineer, accountant and prison guard, said Johnson.
Co-authors of the paper are Traci Sitzmann, assistant professor of management at the University of Colorado Denver, and Anh Thuy Nguyen, graduate student at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Another issue they explored during the study was unattractive women who acknowledge their looks when applying for masculine jobs, said Johnson. There was no benefit to the acknowledgment, they found.
鈥淚n fact, it made the situation worse for unattractive women when they acknowledged their looks,鈥� said Johnson. 鈥淭hey received lower ratings.鈥�
To see the complete study visit or contact Elizabeth Lock at elizabeth.lock@colorado.edu or 303-492-3117.
Contact:
Stefanie Johnson
stefanie.johnson@colorado.edu
Elizabeth Lock, 抖阴旅行射-Boulder media relations, 303-492-3117
elizabeth.lock@colorado.edu
