Help! I’m Too Beautiful to Get Hired

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Recently, I got an e-mail from a reader who was convinced she was getting discriminated against in her job search because she was too attractive. She gave several examples where she said the hiring manager was clearly intimidated by her beauty. A little hard to imagine, right? My immediate reaction was, “Too pretty? Hmmm. I think you may be pretty full of yourself.” That’s until I asked lawyer and discrimination expert, Donna Ballman. Here’s what she shared:

“As a lawyer who has practiced employment law for 25 years, I’ve definitely seen cases of discrimination based upon beauty. In general, the standards are applied differently based on gender. Although appearance discrimination isn’t illegal, sex discrimination most certainly is. When clients (usually female) come to me with this issue, I ask if people of the opposite sex are treated the same. Usually I have beautiful women who are pigeonholed. Assumptions are made that she can’t perform certain jobs, but handsome men are happily hired and promoted. The same would apply to men though. If a company hired beautiful women but didn’t want handsome men in the same position, that would also be discrimination (you might see this with receptionists, pharmaceutical reps or waitresses as examples).

The other thing I see are women who are not hired or disciplined because their clothing or makeup are not appropriate. That’s not illegal. I tell them to cover up and tone it down so they’re not a distraction.

One more point – if a sexy woman isn’t hired or promoted because the company assumes she’ll become a sexual harassment victim, that would also be illegal. It’s gender stereotyping. The company has a duty to maintain a workplace that’s sexual harassment-free.”

That’s why Donna joined me last Friday on “Career Reality TV!” Watch the episode below!

Who is Donna Ballman?

Donna Ballman is the award-winning author. She’s been practicing employment law, including negotiating severance agreements, in Florida since 1986. Her blog on employee-side employment law issues is called, Screw You Guys, I’m Going Home. She has over 2,100 followers on Twitter as @EmployeeAtty. She has taught continuing legal education classes for lawyers and accountants and has published articles on employment law topics such as severance, non-compete agreements, discrimination, sexual harassment, and avoiding litigation. She’s been interviewed by MSNBC, Wall Street Journal, Lifetime Television Network, Daily Business Review, and many other media outlets on employment law issues.

Wish you could have watched the show live? Sign-up below to receive weekly reminders and updates about “Career Reality TV.”

J.T. O’Donnell is the founder of CAREEREALISM.com and CEO of CareerHMO.com, a web-based career development company.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

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9 Comments

1. 

   Attractive

   January 4, 2013 at 1:06 PM

   This is only true if the majority of the other women (or the wife) are unattractive. If there are a lot of attractive people in a workplace then there would be no problem.

   Reply
2. 

   Witheld

   November 25, 2012 at 10:13 PM

   The most bizarre experience was/is when a male co-worker creates a hostile environments against a women, of all things because he felt married women do not have to or should not be working, then proceed to continuously ask where their husbands are and make crude remarks about the woman if she is talking to other men in the work place or more idiotically commenting “she walks around like she is not married” – idiotic but really ridiculous when all the person is doing is working with different groups and quite well at that, but this is something that happened and it was one of the most insane workplaces ever encountered. Of course the same male had no problem as long as he was the one spoken to – which is even more harassing because it is obvious the guy was a psycho trying to control another person, but did they fire him even though he had a reputation for harassing women at his former company too… no! Instead he gets a promotion, nuts is what that place was to work in, but complaints where met with its all in your head… so much for the district manager doing anything about it after that type of response- a year later he ended up getting let go. Better to get out of these situations that stay, nothing ever gets better in workplaces like that.

   Reply
3. 

   Crystal Long

   October 22, 2012 at 10:36 PM

   What usually happens to me is if the hiring manager is male, I definitely get the job. If the hiring manager is female, I might get an interview but not much more. It’s so very frustrating! I almost feel they think if their husband happens to come up to the office and becomes acquainted with me, that things could go wrong for them somehow. That is SO not the case! I am happily married… So what’s all the prissy non-hiring drama about? By the way, I dress very professionally; completely covered but usually wear standard height stilettos. Just because I’m professional in my dress enough to be able to tolerate stilettos all day doesn’t mean I’m a hooker trying to steal your man!

   Reply
4. 

   Bianca

   March 2, 2012 at 8:49 PM

   I was told, to my face, by the hiring manager of the office, that he almost didn’t want to hire me bacause I was, “a sexual harrassment lawsuit waiting to happen”. I did get hired, and discriminated on in other ways; (example: he wouldn’t put me on (SALES) leads but wanted me there when others didn’t have to be there. He had me document manufacturing and doing clerical when I was hired for sales. After three months, I was not put on a single lead!) I had to quit because I was sad and in a position that I was NOT hired for (office admin, when hired for sales). It was hard on me and I am happy to hear that I don’t have to sit down for less because of this physical disability. Being that attractive looks is something that most would think would only get you privilege, most are not compassionate, nor give good advice on this matter. Being treated fairly is important, especially when you have mouths to feed. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Knowing the law will enable me to be more effective in the future.

   Reply
5. 

   Innocent bystander

   April 12, 2011 at 2:29 PM

   I have seen this in the workplace. An IT consulting firm terminated the employment of a woman b/c of her looks. Apparently she was too much of a distraction to the men in the office.

   Studies have shown that attractive (and taller) people are paid more and get promoted more.

   So it seems to me that it is quite possible she isn’t being hired b/c she is too attractive.

   Reply
6. 

   Ron

   April 12, 2011 at 3:37 AM

   This coincides with the results of a recent study which indicate that attractive women are penalized if they include their picture on their resume: http://jobsearchinisrael.blogspot.com/2010/11/women-should-not-include-their-picture.html.

   Reply
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     CAREEREALISM

     April 12, 2011 at 11:32 AM

     Ron,

     Thanks for sharing this. It’s exactly what we are referring to. Honestly, we are all guilty of discrimination. We do it every day. So, why would we assume hiring managers would be free of it?

     I am fascinated by this because I actually see it as an opportunity. If you know you could be discriminated against, you can prepare and find a way to work around it.

     Great stuff and I hope you’ll be joining us online Friday. Viewers participate by Twitter and Email with us during the show. Your comments would be a nice addition!

     Reply
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     Jeremy Meyers

     April 12, 2011 at 3:55 PM

     Why would you include a picture on your resume for any reason if you were not applying for modeling/acting positions?

     Reply
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       CAREEREALISM

       April 13, 2011 at 4:10 PM

       Good point Jeremy, most folks don’t put picture on a resume. But, given we do add them on LinkedIn and Twitter, and that 4 out fo 5 hiring managers admit to checking out a candidate’s social media profile before contacting them, the problem still remains that you could get discriminated against.

       Reply