Even Businesswomen are Judged on Looks--and How to Fight Back

by Sara Grillo, CFA

I feel that I look fine and have no problems with any aspect of my appearance. However, in the days following the article's publication, my self esteem was put to the test. Many readers felt it necessary to comment on my nose, clothing, hair, and even the color of my nail polish. I was the victim of troll comments on Dealbreaker and several chat groups had scathing remarks criticising my appearance. I was called racist slurs, my ethnicity was insulted, and my face was deemed ugly because of my Roman nose. Nobody discussed my education, expertise, or the fact that I am one of only 19% of total CFA charterholders who are female.

It was a critical moment because it has redefined my understanding of what it means to be female. Even though I have dedicated years of my life to pursuing education and experience which have enabled me to become successful, no matter what I have done, this is the bottom line: You're still a woman, no matter how smart, successful, or accomplished you are, and you'll be judged on your looks foremost, unless you insist otherwise. I see myself as a competent, accomplished, rational human being striving to achieve in the financial industry. That is not what other people see right away. First they see a female when they look at me-then they judge. It is like there is a distorting lens that other people see me through. The way that I see myself is not what other people see when they look at me.

The Lens of Distortion

Women have learned to associate our physical appearance with our worth. This effects how we view our successes and failures in the business world because we associate superiority with beauty. A woman is more likely to feel that that she must be smarter and more capable as well as more physically appealing than others in order to be confident. It harder for women to respect themselves if they feel they fall short of society's beauty standard, and this holds us back-even when we do well in our jobs. It is less common that men's looks influence how they and others view their worth as people and professionals.

Women are often taught that power comes only with achieving perfection in our appearance. As soon as we look in the mirror in the morning, our confidence is potentially jolted. How can we take on gargantuan challenges without doubting ourselves when we are threatened by the fear and shame of ugliness, every time that we look at our reflection? This distorted focus on perfection likely translates into the way we view our professional abilities, and it is disempowering.

Fighting Back

After the Bloomberg story, colleagues urged me to contact the editors to request that the negative comments be removed. My friends felt worried and sympathetic for me. I have done nothing of the sort, because I wish to prove a point. The negative comments about me proved exactly what I was talking about in the article: women are objectified, even in situations in which their beauty should be completely irrelevant.

Even the Beautiful Women Get Picked Apart

Is any woman immune to this harsh criticism?  Beauty belongs in the eye of the beholder, but it seems like even the most beautiful women find themselves subject to criticism. I've heard comments about Maria Bartiromo, an accomplished television journalist, being called, "raccoon eyes." The other day I was listening to the radio and the veejay was making fun of singer Rihanna for the size of her forehead. What is perplexing about this is that these two women are ones that many people commonly find stunningly gorgeous. Moreover, Bartironmo's looks have nothing to do with her ability to write or tell a news story, nor Rihanna's ability to hit a note.

If even highly achieving superstars like Maria Bartiromo and Rihanna are the subject of negativity about their looks, what does that mean for the not so successful or good looking amongst us? I have seen plenty of downright ugly men in finance, and none of the articles that I read about them mention their bad looks.

The solution is to stop judging ourselves and others. Here are ideas on how to combat these appearance attacks:

· Stop outwardly judging other people or making negative comments about other people's looks
· When you hear someone else judging another woman, politely diffuse the attack
· Media, which calls attention to women's appearances in a way that is uncalled for, should be censored or subject to complaint by readers

 These small steps can be taken to combat the emphasis on beauty in the workplace, and may help women to be given credit for their brain cells rather than their beauty.

Sara Grillo is a partner at Diamond Oak Capital and professor who has worked at Lehman Brothers and JPMorgan. She earned a B.A. from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from NYU Stern School of Business, and is a CFA charterholder.