For many of the women on our forums, questions of appearance were a career issue separate and apart from harassment. Brooks Bell, founder of a self-named enterprise-level testing and optimization firm, said she calls it the “female tax” because compared with men’s grooming responsibilities, women need to do everything men do career-wise AND:
She added, “All women recognize the importance of appearance, but it’s still taboo to recognize how important it is in the workplace and for our careers. When I’ve advised younger women that how they look matters, I usually get an uncomfortable and awkward reaction because it seems a little sexist to suggest that their value is in their looks.”
Catherine Rose, senior product manager for LightAide at Philips, admits: “As far as my inner self—I really do hate dressing up and fitting into the system at the office. I have a PhD in Engineering, then an MBA, which means that I would rather people value me based on my contributions instead of my outward appearance. I do recognize that I should put on makeup and get dressed up, but I would rather spend my time moving projects forward.”
Jex Musa, who runs a connection and headhunting firm ByJex, said, “Physical appearance makes a huge impression on the people you work with. It’s your first impression, what you’re saying to the world about how successful you are and how successful you want to be. I believe my personal style has helped me.
“I don’t doll myself up with a ton of makeup every day or wear stilettos. I dress with precision and style, though. I know that if I show up to meetings wearing flip-flops and a T-shirt, I will be taken less seriously. Unfortunately, many men I know DO show up in flip-flops, and people take them just as seriously.
“Women are judged a bit more harshly (even in the startup world), and there is still the expectation that they look ‘pretty’ or ‘professional’ each day. Because there are so few women in my industry, each one is noticed and critiqued even more strongly.”