women

We live in a world where most celebrities have multiple business endeavors going besides what made them famous. Well known socialites are no longer just party-goers in ballgowns, but have now taken on the term “influencer” and drape themselves in brand deals before being photographed.

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Oh, how far we’ve come! Recently, it was revealed that — finally! — women CEOs at Fortune 500 companies outnumber male CEOs named John. A dubious milestone, but it's something to celebrate.

Though women have come pretty far in society, the progress we've made is far from enough. From the pay gap to daily microaggressions, it’s still obvious that women are treated as lesser than in society. This is especially clear when you look at how few female-founded businesses there are.

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Women face multiple disadvantages in the workforce. Economic and societal restrictions keep women from reaching the higher rungs of the business world. While that is changing it's hard to navigate the road, but there are lots of great resources for women in business to take advantage of and learn from. Here is a collection of books, videos, and articles for those looking for knowledge on how to get ahead. No matter how much time you have to spare, there's something here for you!

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

Amazon

Sheryl Sandberg

Sandberg is the chief operating officer of Facebook who gave a great Ted talk called "Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders" about how women unintentionally hold themselves back in their careers. This talk inspired this continuation of the conversation with personal anecdotes, straightforward data and research, and the voice of a powerful woman. This book is a mixture of practical advice for negotiation and building your career. Sandberg talks about her journey and what women can do to combine a great personal and professional life, and how men can support women both at work and at home. She has even more Ted talks and books for you to check out.

Sex Differences in the Perceived Dominance and Prestige of Women With and Without Cosmetics

@malvestida

Viktoria R. Mileva, Alex L. Jones, Richard Russell, Anthony C. Little

Could how you wear your makeup be affecting whether or not you're getting ahead? Actually yeah. Women who wear the right amount of cosmetics are associated with higher status and higher paying jobs. This scientific study breaks down how men and women rated images of women wearing cosmetics and how that would affect them in the business world. There is a surprising amount of information on the topic and a lot of different scientific studies. If you want to learn more about them check out our article Could Your Makeup Be Affecting Your Career?

Own It: The Power of Women at Work Hardcover

Amazon

Sallie Krawcheck

Are you looking for a business pep talk? Krawcheck's powerful book is a feminist business manifesto. Stop doing things the men's way and start doing it your way. When we take advantage of our own natural power we can forge new paths, find companies that respect our worth, and learn to "invest our economic muscle". As a longstanding witness to the boys club of business Krawcheck's personal story is informative and inspiring.

Can We "Have It All"

Anne-Marie Slaughter

Public policy expert Slaughter talks about her 2012 article "Why Women Still Can't Have It All" and expands upon her ideas. She talks about shifts in work culture, public policy, and social mores that can benefit everyone on the road to gender equality. If you have the time to read her original article from The Atlantic I recommend that you do! She talks about her experiences working in the White House doing important work, and how divided she felt. Slaughter firmly believes we can have it all but the way our economy and society are structured are holding us back.

Women in Business- Entirely Unremarkable

Kirsten Hall

In this ted talk Kirsten Hall poses the question, what happens if you stop celebrating women in business just for being women in business? Would that help reduce the idea that it's unique or strange so that we could all work towards it being the new normal? As more and more women achieve higher ranks in industries around the world it is time for these women to not be remarkable just for their gender.

I hope you find something to help inspire and guide you towards your best career path.

In recent times there has been a push for body acceptance, and makeup has been a big part of the discussion. Some women love wearing makeup, and others don't. So while you should always be making the best decisions for yourself, there is something else going on here. How is your makeup being perceived in the workplace? Is it helping you get ahead, or is it holding you back?

In a 2016 study by Jaclyn S. Wong and Andrew M. Penner published in Research in Social Stratification and Mobility looked at how attractiveness affected income. Their findings confirmed long held beliefs that attractive people, they just make more money. In fact they found that an attractive individual can earn roughly 20% more than an average attractive person. However, makeup has to be added into that equation and the study accounted for 'grooming'. They found that beauty can be 'actively cultivated' which means, yes wearing makeup can help you be seen as more attractive and therefore your salary can reflect that.

Does this mean that men should take 'grooming' into account, yes actually. It helps the overall perception of attractiveness and competence, but men aren't judged nearly as much on that as their female counterparts are. So yes men should be grooming, but it isn't nearly as important for them as it is for women. Lucky us.

Competent, trustworthy, approachable? What Do You Think?@malvestida

In a different 2016 Dr. Viktoria Mileva and her team looked at the way makeup was perceived across gender lines with their results published in the aptly named journal, Perception. The study was done using computer software generated standardized makeup looks. Volunteers rated these looks according to attractiveness, dominance, and prestige. This is a clear example of where we can see the gender divide when it comes to opinions of makeup in the workplace.

Men and women both agreed that the makeup wearing faces were more attractive, but when it came to dominance and prestige the opinions differed. Women rated fellow women as more dominant while men rated them as more prestigious. The researchers found it likely that men don't see women as physical competitors and therefore didn't rank them as dominant. A follow up study found that the women's rankings were more based on jealousy, and they saw the made up women as more promiscuous and attractive to men than the non-makeup wearing counterparts.

Prestigious, in control, untrustworthy? What Do You Think?@malvestida

This leads to an interesting dilemma for women in the workplace. How do you do your makeup, for the men or the women in the office? Is it possible to please both? Should you shift your makeup looks depending on the situation? To look at that, there is even more you need to know about office makeup.

A study by Nancy L. Etcoff and her team, published in 2011 here, studied people's perceptions based on how much makeup a woman was wearing. Offered three looks from bare to heavy makeup the results show how tumultuous the 'Survival of the Prettiest' can be. There is no foolproof makeup look, and it has to change based on the situation. Cosmetics can wildly change people's perception of you from how smart you are, how approachable, how in control, and how competent. Your makeup can make you more attractive, but you could also be perceived as more untrustworthy.

Who would you hire? Figure 1 - Plos

So really, what does it all mean? Well really it's good and it's bad news. It really means that at the end of the day, women are judged on their appearance more than men are. It means to get ahead of a man with equal skills, you have to take your physical appearance into account. It means that makeup can help women be perceived as competent put together people, but with the double edged sword that too much makeup can give you a very different reputation. It means women can use makeup to their advantage while the world uses it as a weapon against them at the exact same time.