Why Being Beautiful Means a Higher Salary

The world is an unfair and superficial place…

The media company Vox released a pretty depressing video last week with pretty chirpy graphics illustrating how scientific studies have proven time and again, that it pays to be pretty.

Make the effort, make the cut according to All The Scientific Studies.

Some of the dispiriting factoids include:

– Cute babies get more affection from adults, including their parents.

– Teachers have higher expectations for attractive children. These children get higher grades and are more likely to get college degrees.

– When it comes to the workplace hiring managers are more likely to consider good looking applicants – take a long hard look at that LinkedIn profile – and attractive people have a better chance of getting promoted.

– There are studies showing how a high BMI negatively affects a woman’s wage.

– Even attractive people fare better in court – they get smaller fines and larger compensation.

Are there any downsides to being beautiful? Well, attractive women applying for ‘masculine? jobs do experience discrimination at the application stage, which isn’t a victory for anyone.

Have you ever seen unfair beauty economics at play in the workplace?

Jeanne Sutton @jeannedesutun