It was a scene straight out of The Devil Wears Prada. In 2000, Michelle Barretto, then in her early 20s, eagerly walked into a job interview with a renowned female designer. Though she was just a fresh graduate, she was precocious and passionate about design, and felt confident about her qualifications for the assistant role. But Barretto didn’t even make it past the first glance. “Absolutely not,” the Filipino-American designer declared before Barretto could say a word, turning to her receptionist to question how Barretto was recommended in the first place. “I was very thin and a bit awkward-looking because of my braces, so maybe I didn’t have the ‘right’ look for the job,” Barretto says. “Looking back, I’m also surprised I didn’t allow that incident to discourage me. I remember telling myself that she missed out, because she didn’t get to see how smart and competent I am.”

Twenty five years after that formative moment, Barretto is now the CEO of Vitamin B—a brand consultancy firm that caters to the country’s top conglomerates. Working in an industry that emphasizes visuals and perception has given her unique insight into how physical appearance can shape both personal and professional success. “When a person is perceived as conventionally beautiful, so many doors open effortlessly for them,” she explains. One example she shared is how branding a company becomes easier when its CEO is considered attractive since their appearance casts a “halo effect” that enhances its overall image. “You realize how much weight is still placed on appearance, even when your work speaks for itself, ” she says.

What is lookism?

Lookism refers to discrimination based on one’s physical appearance. According to Liezel Matias, a human resources practitioner with over two decades of experience and a specialization in sociology, people tend to perceive good-looking individuals as healthier, more intelligent, and more sociable. “Society has conditioned us to associate beautiful people as somewhat superior, not just in looks but also in competence,” she says. As Barretto’s story illustrates, lookism often seeps into the workplace, where an employer’s perception of one’s looks can skew judgments about one’s proficiency and potential. This ingrained bias can influence hiring decisions, performance evaluations, and career advancement opportunities. A 2020 study by the University of Memphis in Tennessee discovered that even in academic institutions—places where brains should always outweigh beauty—students tend to evaluate better-looking female teachers as more effective educators.

Gerri Dela Cruz, a psychology graduate with 13 years of human resources experience spanning both the corporate sector and academia, acknowledges that some emphasis on looks at the workplace should be expected. She highlights that a person who comes to work with a well-groomed appearance—like clean nails, tidy hair, and well-ironed clothes—exudes professionalism. However, Dela Cruz notes that lookism becomes quite pronounced in jobs related to sales, marketing, and other client-facing roles. “Companies often try to leverage society’s bias toward attractive people, believing it could mean higher sales or better client relationships,” she says. 

Beauty bias at work

This becomes problematic when an organization creates a culture that intentionally and proudly promotes a looks-based culture. “I know of an organization that only tends to hire women of a certain height and body type because the department head treats them as ‘office decorations.’ The male supervisor knows he has built a reputation of having only beautiful women in his team, which gets him invited to parties and other social events,” Dela Cruz says.

Lookism, though it affects all genders, is most acutely felt by women, with weight being one of the most pervasive determinants of professional advancement. Various research, including an oft-cited 2005 study by American sociologists Dalton Conley and Rebecca Glauber, indicate that a slim body can give people a career advantage that’s comparable to the boost a college education provides in terms of job offers and earning potential. In contrast, heavier individuals often face negative stereotypes, including assumptions that they lack mobility, self-control, and motivation. “When a job applicant is overweight, one of the biases that arise is whether this person has a series of health problems or mobility issues that could prevent them from doing the job well,” Matias says. This bias is further compounded by a misconception that weight gain is solely a consequence of poor dietary choices and inadequate exercise, and that a person should be blamed for their inability to keep the weight down. Framing it as a personal failure gives this harmful narrative a veneer of legitimacy, making it harder to confront and dismantle.

Matias believes that companies should acknowledge that biases like lookism exist, rather than ignore them, and that leaders should set the tone for inclusivity and fairness. “Leaders have the power to influence organizational culture by establishing proper hiring guidelines, promotion policies, and training programs to ensure individuals are valued for their abilities and character, rather than superficial traits,” she says. Similarly, Dela Cruz combats her own biases by always aligning her hiring decisions with her organization’s core values, mission, and vision. “This approach encourages a deeper effort to understand a candidate’s character and potential, rather than being overly influenced by the ‘first impression advantage’ that often favors more attractive individuals,” she says.

Rising above workplace lookism 

For young women who are still developing their sense of self, encountering looks-based discrimination in the workplace can be particularly jarring. Such experiences can challenge your confidence in your abilities and undermine your self-worth. I was only 23 years old when I co-founded a non-profit organization, requiring me to take on a senior leadership role at a very young age. As a young leader tasked with navigating fundraising and high-level partnership meetings—spaces that are often dominated by men—I found myself receiving unsolicited comments about my looks. The constant scrutiny of my physical appearance helped fuel a persistent imposter syndrome, making me question whether I genuinely deserved my leadership position and the opportunities I was getting. 

As I gained more experience and confidence over time, I realized that these comments were not a reflection of my competence, but an unfortunate symptom of how lookism and society’s disproportionate emphasis on women’s looks can distort our self-esteem. One of the things I focus on now when mentoring young women is identifying and rising above harmful narratives about their worth and competence, and replacing self-doubt with self-assurance.

Breaking the beauty barrier

For women who feel disadvantaged because they do not have the beauty premium, developing one’s soft skills can serve as a powerful equalizer and counter to lookism. According to a 2024 LinkedIn study, organization, teamwork, problem-solving, and communication skills were each linked to an 11% acceleration in a person’s career growth, while leadership skills led to a 10% boost. Barretto strongly echoes this: “Physical beauty is relative. Lookism exists, but it will only take you so far. In the long run, your expertise, the way you articulate your ideas, and how well you relate to different kinds of people—that holds much more weight.”

While lookism may give some people a head start, the depth and breadth of one’s contributions will ultimately define a person’s trajectory. “In branding, we always talk about identity differentiation,” Barretto says. “Even if society tries to judge you on one aspect, transcend that by showing how multi-faceted you are. That makes a person unique and even more attractive. You have to know your value, and you have to bring it to the table.”

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