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Pretty privilege in the workplace | Survey

Are conventionally attractive people more successful?

  CV news features
Pretty privilege in the workplace | Survey
CV news features

“Pretty privilege” or beauty bias, is the principle that conventionally attractive people are more likely to receive more economic, social, and political advantages. 

Our recent study on nepotism found that two-thirds of people (66.9%) think that nepotism is on the rise in the workplace. But it’s not just well-connected people who receive more advantages at work.

Eight in ten (81.3%) of the 1,050 Americans we surveyed believed that “pretty privilege” exists at work, but does it actually? We asked respondents to rate how conventionally attractive they are and compared this to how successful they are, to find out how far looks (or body confidence) really does impact your career. 

And if you don’t have it naturally, can ‘pretty privilege’ be bought? We also find out how pressured people feel to fit a certain beauty standard at work – and how much they spend to achieve these standards.

Key Findings

  • Those who rated themselves as extremely attractive earn on average $19,945 more than those who rated themselves as unattractive
  • CEOs were more than twice as likely to rate themselves as extremely attractive than average (71% compared to 33%)
  • People who rated themselves as unattractive are five times more likely to say their looks impacted their career negatively (46% compared to 7.6%)
  • 64.2% of people feel pressured to alter natural features to comply with conventional beauty standards at work
  • 81.3% of people believe that conventionally attractive people get ahead at work
  • 83.4% of people believe that people who invest more in their work appearance are perceived as more competent or professional. 

81.3% of people believe that conventionally attractive people get ahead at work 

It’s not just in the modeling and entertainment businesses where your looks count. Nearly all people we surveyed believe there is a beauty bias at work: eight in ten (81.3%) believe that conventionally attractive people are more likely to be promoted, hired, or receive raises at work. And it’s not just how naturally good-looking you are that counts, 83.4% of people believe that people who invest more in their work appearance are perceived as more competent or professional. 

Not only are attractive people treated preferentially, but those deemed less attractive are actively disfavored. Concerningly, 66.9% of people have witnessed someone being treated unfairly or spoken badly about due to their appearance at work. 

66.9% of people have witnessed someone being treated unfairly due to their appearance at work

64.2% of people feel pressured to alter natural features to comply with conventional beauty standards at work

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Unfortunately, there is a specific set of beauty standards that men and women are held up against in Western culture to be deemed “conventionally attractive”. 

Recently, a woman shared an experience of being rejected from an interview for not wearing makeup. Multiple commenters said that their bosses have told them that they need to wear at least a little makeup, and more agreed it’s expected for women to wear makeup at work. Others report pressure to change their natural hair texture or hairstyles. In just one example from 2010, a black woman was offered a corporate job on the condition that she cut off her locs because they “tend to get messy”

How many people still feel pressured to change their natural features to fit a “conventional” beauty standard? When asked whether they felt pressure to alter natural features such as straightening hair or wearing makeup for work,  64.2% of respondents agreed – a majority of modern workers.

64.2% of people feel pressure to comply with beauty standards at work

The average person rates themselves as 7.7 out of 10 at work

The average person thinks “pretty privilege” is real, but how many people think of themselves as “pretty”? After getting ready for a typical workday, the average respondent rates themselves as 7.7 out of 10. Men were more likely to think of themselves as extremely attractive than women, with 37.5% of men rating themselves a 9 or perfect 10 compared to 27.4% of women.

How attractive people rate themselves out of 10 when at work

People who rated themselves as unattractive are five times more likely to say their looks impacted their career negatively (46% compared to 7.6%)

Nearly half (46%) of people who rated themselves as unattractive in the study (1-3) said their looks had impacted their career negatively. This number is over five times greater than the study average of 7.6%. 

Those who rated their looks as average (between 4-6) were most likely to say their looks had no impact on their careers (38% compared to 16.2% of respondents). 

Those who rated themselves as conventionally attractive (above 7) were most likely to say their looks have benefited them professionally (60.7% rising to 66.8% of those who rated themselves 9 or 10 out of 10).

People who rate themselves unattractive are more likely to say their looks impact their career negatively

One in five (23.3%) of respondents said their looks had impacted their careers both positively and negatively – and this was consistent whether you thought of yourself as unattractive, average, or good-looking. Examples of this might be an employee who is favoured for their looks only to face discrimination after rejecting unwanted advances. Or someone who is perceived as not a ‘threat’ because of the way they look.

In fact, 55.7% of people said they had downplayed their looks to be taken more seriously at work, rising to 68.7% of people who considered themselves extremely attractive. 

Successful people are more than likely to rate themselves as conventionally attractive

Entry-level employees were least likely to rate themselves as attractive (65.52%) whereas nearly all CEOs rated themselves at 7 or above (99.8%). In fact, 71% of CEOs rated themselves as 9 or 10 out of 10, double the study average of 33%. Consistently, there was a neat correlation between power and perceived attractiveness as you ascended the ranks of power. 

How attractive people rate themselves by job type

It’s also important to consider that these ratings were self-prescribed. Confidence is key to success, and rating yourself 9 or 10 out of 10 also indicates a high sense of self-worth. This is consistent with another study which found that 18% of CEOs are narcissists – compared to 5% of the general population. 

As perceived attractiveness is correlated with seniority, it’s unsurprising that beautiful people also earn more. 

Those who rated themselves as extremely attractive earn on average $19,945 more than those who rate themselves as unattractive ($63,954 compared to $44,009).

How much you earn vs how attractive you are

78.9% have felt pressured to spend money on their appearance to keep up with professional expectations in their industry

Nearly all respondents (83.4%) believe that people who invest more in how they look at work are perceived better. 62.8% of people have been told to dress or present themselves in a certain way to fit their industry’s beauty standards. And 60.4% of female and 45.2% of male remote or hybrid workers admit to putting on makeup and spending extra time on personal grooming just for video calls.

Four in five (78.86%) of respondents say they often or sometimes feel the need to spend money on appearance-related products (clothes, makeup, grooming) to keep up with professional expectations in their industry.

The average person spends $30 extra on personal grooming products per month. Annually, the average respondent spends $178.18 extra per year to cover beauty or grooming treatments or related services (e.g., dry cleaning, manicures, haircuts) than they would otherwise, in order to look good for work.

Those earning over $100,000 per year were twice as likely to spend over $300 extra dollars on services to look good for work when compared to the average person (34.8% compared to 15.1%).

According to our survey, those who dress or present themselves in line with industry standards earn more money than those who don’t. Those earning over $80,000 were most likely to adhere to the norm at (77.2%) compared to the study average of (64.2%). 

Does vanity pay off? People who deem themselves more attractive also spend more to look good for work

The study showed that those who rated themselves as attractive or extremely attractive after getting ready for work were more successful. But does this confidence need to come from your natural appearance, or can it come from the clothes you wear and the treatments you get to look your best?

The study found that those who rated themselves as most attractive were also more likely to spend money on their appearance. Those who described themselves as extremely attractive at work felt more pressure to spend to keep up their appearance (46.9%) than those who deemed themselves as unattractive (14.7%).

People who deem themselves extremely attractive feel more pressure to keep up their appearance at work

Around 74% of those who rated themselves 9 or 10 out of 10 spent extra money on grooming treatments or related services to look good at work. This is higher than the average of 57.3% and considerably higher than those who rated themselves between 1-3 (23.3%).

Only people who rated themselves as 7 or above spend $101 or more per month on personal grooming products per month to have enough for work, and only people who rated themselves as 6 or more out of 10 spent over $500 on clothes, shoes and accessories for work each month.

Methodology 

We surveyed 1,050 employed adults in December 2024. The survey was designed to find out general attitudes about looks and appearances in the workplace, personal experiences, and financial pressures to look a certain way to comply with industry standards.

We also asked respondents to score how physically attractive they are at work out of 10. Out of 10, 1-3 was classified as unattractive, 4-6 as average or neutral, 7-8 as attractive, and 9-10 as extremely attractive.

Gender

  • Male 55.9%
  • Female 43.0%
  • Non-binary 0.7%
  • Prefer not to say 0.4%

Work location

  • Hybrid 27.3%
  • In-person/ on-site 37.1%
  • Remote 35.5%

Sources

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