Being a woman and entering the workforce after graduation can be intimidating. But you might be surprised to learn that entering the professional world can be difficult for reasons not even related to your skills or work ethic: it could be at the way you dress, put on makeup, and present yourself at your job. This “grooming gap” can end up having real life consequences, like reduced pay or the belief you’re unable to do your job properly.
Now, discrimination against women in the work place is nothing new. You’ve likely heard about the gender gap in the workforce in which men are consistently hired more over women for entry-level positions, despite the fact that women are earning more bachelor’s degrees. Consequently, there are less women within these companies to promote to higher-level positions, and this in turn becomes a “vicious cycle” that leads to vast amounts of gender inequality.
Or you’ve heard about how gender plays a significant role in how much workers get paid. For instance, white women, black women and Hispanic women make 83%, 59% and 49%, respectively, of the salary that a white man makes. When race and gender are compounded, women of color face even more discrimination in the workplace than their white peers.
The grooming gap itself has its place in a wider systemic problem of gender discrimination against women in the workplace. Women feel societal pressure to conform to certain beauty standards in order to succeed as a working professional. In order to “look the part” for a job, women might be forced to spend their a significant amount of their resources such as time and money on hair, makeup, and clothing compared to their male peers who do not have to do the same.
These expectations could range from the notion that women should wear makeup to the office to the idea that natural black hair is “unprofessional” for a work environment.
Either way, women are forced to deal with an ultimatum in their career that men never have to endure. According to Mindy Isser, if women do not conform, they will be paid less; but if, “they do conform, they’re expected to use those higher wages on beauty products and grooming regimens.” And it seems that even if women do conform, there could be consequences for conforming too. Once women reach managerial or leadership positions, “‘beauty can become a liability’” because coworkers might believe someone lacks the competency to adequately fulfill their job’s responsibilities.
Altogether, while you’re preparing to enter the professional world — whether as a recent graduate or a student working at an internship — it’s important to be aware of these biases against women. These are issues women should not have to face while trying to build their careers, but it will take a lot of time, effort, and work on the part of the companies before these sorts of inequalities can be removed from the workplace.