A lot has been debated about
glass ceilings. I am sure that the ceiling still affects a lot of women climbing
the corporate ladder. By the law of nature, politeness and caring are the two
attributes related to a woman. Aggressive and powerful is the exact opposite of
what we learnt about the female characteristics. With self-struggle along with
the help of some supportive leaders/counterparts women are making it to the
top. Weather the ceiling is thick or reducing or totally gone I am not sure of.
But one thing is certain, now in the changed times, some women have definitely
learnt to find a window of opportunity through the same ceiling.
Personality and charm works well
in the Corporate. Studies confirm that in a sales deal, the sales person is
more important than the product being sold. People tend to instantly trust an
innocent face. Perception often blinds our reason. Likewise, managers also like
pretty faces around them. Beauty has now started to compensate for the brains. I
coin a new term for explaining this phenomenon – “The Loveliness Ladder”. And
this not just affects the female population. It affects the other half of the
world as well. Why would the not so good to look at guy/girl be last picked at
the placements of a college? Why will the ladies with a better smile or a
charming personality be picked up first in an interview?
Some quotes from studies and researches
conducted in different parts of the world at different points in time:
1. Attractive
people earn an average of 3 or 4 percent more than people with below-average
looks, according to Daniel Hamermesh, professor of economics at the University
of Texas at Austin and author of the book "Beauty Pays: Why Attractive
People Are More Successful." Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/attractive-people-are-more-successful-2012-9#ixzz356d1yUi1
2. The
average callback rate was 30% across all of the CVs sent out. For attractive
women, it was 54%, and for attractive men, 47%. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.in/Check-Out-How-Much-More-Often-Beautiful-Women-Get-Callbacks-For-Job-Interviews/articleshow/22441569.cms
3. Researchers found that more-attractive
agents sell properties at higher prices than less-attractive agents. This can
be attributed to a "halo effect," in which more-attractive
individuals are perceived as possessing greater intelligence or capability.
Read more: http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2012/08/30/why-it-pays-to-be-attractive
One might argue that one should
leverage whatever one has. Weather its beauty or its brains. But isn’t Corporate
not a beauty pageant? Can an athlete
win a beauty contest? Or can an actor be a painter? So why can’t we keep this rationale
when it comes to the Corporate? Why is a pretty face more likable at work? Shouldn’t
workplace be a place where brains and skills are objectively judged keeping the
perception of the heart out of the box? A more skilled and hard-working
resource often is considered equal or even left behind in the Corporate race.
For those who are eligible to
climb the Loveliness Ladder – thumbs up. Those who are struggling to fight the
glass ceiling and cannot even use the loveliness ladder- find a new way to
shake the system. Although they have been ‘lucky’
enough to have the brains to reach where they are, breaking the chains of
stereotypical and orthodox thinking- only to be bound by perception and beauty.
For them, it is more suffocating than before for now they are caught in the
glass ceiling and can’t take the loveliness ladder. Time to find another window
or door or ladder, for the Corporate believes in the survival of the smartest!!
