I just realized this about the women leadership at my company

[Anonymous]

Who are director or above in more male dominated areas. Not to steal the topic from the other thread, but I noticed that of the women who have made it to higher levels in our company in more male dominated departments, I.e excluding hr and marketing, they are all attractive women in their 30s. One is C level, others are director, senior director and a VP in various areas in tech, engineering and strategy. Their bosses are all men, who were the ones who promoted all these women into their positions.

So my question is is this a coincidence at my company or are attractive and competent women more likely to get promoted by men in male dominated professions than average or less than average and competent women? Do the men realize this or is it subconscious?

I’m also noticing that the same can’t be said about the male leadership in the same areas. While yes they are all groomed and dress nicely, they are not attractive in the same way the women are.

[Anonymous]

Becoming a CEO, especially in a male dominated field, takes a lot of confidence and also knowing which egos to stroke. As a whole, I think attractive women are going to have the confidence needed. In general, I think attractive people are also seen as more personable which certainly helps. Obviously there are exceptions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who are director or above in more male dominated areas. Not to steal the topic from the other thread, but I noticed that of the women who have made it to higher levels in our company in more male dominated departments, I.e excluding hr and marketing, they are all attractive women in their 30s. One is C level, others are director, senior director and a VP in various areas in tech, engineering and strategy. Their bosses are all men, who were the ones who promoted all these women into their positions.

So my question is is this a coincidence at my company or are attractive and competent women more likely to get promoted by men in male dominated professions than average or less than average and competent women? Do the men realize this or is it subconscious?

I’m also noticing that the same can’t be said about the male leadership in the same areas. While yes they are all groomed and dress nicely, they are not attractive in the same way the women are.

Duh.

[Anonymous]

Are you sure they're in their 30s? The most attractive woman in my job of 200 was in her 40s. Great body, face, hair, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They blew their way to the top, not surprising.

Disgusting. Nice way to set back the women's movement by decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Becoming a CEO, especially in a male dominated field, takes a lot of confidence and also knowing which egos to stroke. As a whole, I think attractive women are going to have the confidence needed. In general, I think attractive people are also seen as more personable which certainly helps. Obviously there are exceptions.

Good answer.

[Anonymous]

How big is your company? Is it a small company? Also, when you say Director, do these people actually have power?

At my larger company, the people--male and female-- in actual leadership (not BS "director" roles) that are running large departments are in their 40s and beyond because that's how long it takes to make it there.

[Anonymous]

Type A women are the ones dominating the top ranks at my org. And Type A women are more likely to have figured out other aspects of their life too- how to dress, makeup, present yourself. I’m convinced that nearly everyone can be attractive if they put the work in. Some people clearly are born attractive and the rest of us figure out clothing, eat healthfully and lose weight, makeup etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Type A women are the ones dominating the top ranks at my org. And Type A women are more likely to have figured out other aspects of their life too- how to dress, makeup, present yourself. I’m convinced that nearly everyone can be attractive if they put the work in. Some people clearly are born attractive and the rest of us figure out clothing, eat healthfully and lose weight, makeup etc.

This goes back to the thread about how women in corporate aren't necessarily the most naturally beautiful, but they are good at grooming and "fitting in." They observe carefully and understand how to groom themselves to fit in, meaning how to look very polished without looking trashy or flashy.

[Anonymous]

Anjali Sud, 40 y/o CEO of Vimeo, has a public Instagram account where she posts a lot of her outfit choices.

[Anonymous]

Not all of the women in senior leadership in my company are attractive, but they are all blond. It's a British company, so there are a lot of horse faces topped by flaxen manes.

[Anonymous]

Definitely not true for my Fortune 500 company. The top women are the go getters, pulling in 100 hour workweeks easily. They actually dress rather dowdy and they are definitely not in their 30s, more 50s. I think they are beautiful, but definitely not sexified...

[Anonymous]

30 something’s are still young, with a bigger budget for grooming/fashion/weight management.
Of course they are attractive.

[Anonymous]

You figure out as a woman in many companies that you have to adhere to a particular appearance standard to get into a senior position, so if you're ambitious, you get there or you leave. I was at a company like that, I realized quickly that for multiple reasons I was not that person, so I left and did better elsewhere. The patterns among who of my former coworkers have gotten promoted since then have confirmed this. And I wouldn't say the men are getting promoted purely from competence, either, there's just a less-visible set of other criteria they are judged on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely not true for my Fortune 500 company. The top women are the go getters, pulling in 100 hour workweeks easily. They actually dress rather dowdy and they are definitely not in their 30s, more 50s. I think they are beautiful, but definitely not sexified...

Same here. They aren't even traditionally beautiful. They work their butts off and have put up with a lot of nonsense.