Appearances count -- to the point of bias?
Austin Business Journal - by Melinda West Seifert Special To The Austin Business Journal
How does personal appearance connect with money, finance and employment?
Daniel Hamermesh, a professor at the University of Texas with a doctorate in economics, says it can equal up to a 12 percent difference in total lifetime earnings.
Hamermesh has studied what is referred to as appearance discrimination, good looks bias, the glass-appearance ceiling and looks-ism. His first study in 1994 was a cooperative effort between UT and Michigan State University. It found that people this culture identifies as `good looking" generally earn 12 percent more over their lifetimes than those on the other end of the "beauty scale."
The study has since been repeated in the United States, Canada and Shanghai, China. In each case, with all other factors held constant and adjusting for age, Hamermesh says the findings remain consistent:
• Good-looking people earn more over their lifetimes.
• The impact of looks on income is less for women than it is with men.
• With respect to marriage, good looking women tend to marry men with higher earning power and potential.
In the United States study, Hamermesh divided the study population of 3,500 into three groups based on looks. The top 30 percent rated as the good-looking, the middle 55 percent were average-looking, and the bottom 15 percent were rated as bad-looking. His findings revealed the top group earned 5 percent more than the middle 55 percent; the group in the bottom 15 percent earned 10 percent less than the middle 55 percent.
Hamermesh's findings show for an average earnings of $30,000 per year, there would be a difference of about $3,600 per year between those in the top 30 percent and those in the bottom 15 percent of looks. Over a 45-year working life, this translates to a difference of more than $150,000.
A recent study of attorneys, all graduates from the same institution, found similar results.
"The good-looking attorneys earn more," Hamermesh says.
While none of the studies targeted Austin specifically, Hamermesh speculates the findings from these studies are in keeping with what would be expected in Austin.
Because Austin is considered a young city, Hamermesh hypothesizes there is a premium placed on youthful good looks. Because Austin's climate is warmer than in more northern areas, people here tend to wear less. Hamermesh says this climate and dress difference would be expected to entice more people to stay in better physical shape.
In a perfect world, people would be judged on merit and paid accordingly. Too often, it fails to be perfect and a variety of factors enter into professional decisions.
The Social Issues Research Center in Oxford, United Kingdom, is an independent, nonprofit organization that conducts research on social and lifestyle issues and monitors and assesses global sociocultural trends. SIRC released a recent report which says "Attractive people have distinct advantages in our society...Studies show attractive applicants have a better chance of getting jobs and of receiving higher salaries. One U.S. study found that taller men earned around $600 per inch more than shorter executives."
Hamermesh says the main qualifier is symmetry of features. He says, too, quality of features is more important than weight -- up to a point.
Amy Hemp-Monagle, a doctoral candidate in counseling psychology at the University of Texas, agrees with Hamermesh. She says psychological literature suggests people are judged more favorably if they are more attractive -- particularly with first impressions. Because attractive people are judged favorably through first impressions, they are also perceived as having other positive attributes -- such as above average intelligence, more fulfilling lives and job success.
With a downturn in the economy, looks just might play an even more important role.
Dr. Robert Ersek, president of the plastic surgery center Personique, says both men and women use cosmetic surgery to keep the jobs they have and to look for new jobs.
"You can't help but judge a book by its cover," Ersek says. He says he has had a face lift himself, as well as cosmetic surgery on his eyes, nose and brows.
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