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Article:

7 Ways Your Looks Affect Your Pay

It Might Not Be Fair, But the Way You Look Plays a Part in How Much You’re Paid

1. Being "Too Pretty"

Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Generally speaking, attractive people make out when it comes to salary and hiring. But what about the exceedingly attractive among us (champagne problems, right?)? If you’re an attractive man, don’t sweat it because you always enjoy an advantage, according to a 2010 study that appeared in the Journal of Social Psychology. However, women rated as very attractive face discrimination when applying to "masculine" jobs.

In another experiment that was part of a Newsweek survey of more than 200 hiring managers, people were given a list of jobs and 110 photos of candidates (split evenly between men and women). When test subjects were asked to rank suitability for each job, the men were overwhelmingly given preference for jobs such as director of security, manager of research and development, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction supervisor. The women were relegated to more traditional (and lower-paying) female roles such as receptionist, proving beauty can be a beast at times.

 

  • Aaron Gouveia

    Aaron Gouveia has worked as the Content Manager of Salary.com since 2011. Prior to that, he was an award-winning journalist at several prominent New England newspapers. Read more...