CULTURE | ECONOMY | HEALTH
Girl Math: More Makeup, More Money
WORDS BY FREDERIKA WARREN | WARREN@PROXYBYIWI.COM | 23 APRIL 2024
In 2013, two thirds of British bosses said they would be less likely to employ a female job applicant if they wore no makeup to an interview.(i) So, how much has changed in just over 10 years? Given anecdotal insights shared by women in their thirties, arguably not a lot. The majority of women I spoke to felt that wearing makeup is a necessary part of their morning routine for work, and that in many cases work is the only place they still regularly decide to wear makeup. Alongside stories of women being asked if they are unwell when they have chosen to go to work makeup free, and were being asked to apply makeup by a manager before an external meeting. The most common response being that wearing makeup is important to look professional, makes them feel confident, and everyone does it.
There are multiple research studies that validate why women might feel this way. A 2012 report found that women deemed attractive had a 36 percent higher chance of being invited for a second interview.(ii) As well as a study published in 2016 in the Journal of Social Stratification and Mobility, which found that wearing makeup to work had a positive impact on a woman’s career trajectory, including her monthly paycheck.(iii) Wearing makeup not only impacts a woman’s employment opportunities, but it also impacts how they are viewed within a work setting. In 2016 researchers at Boston University and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, led a study that found women who wear ‘professional’ style makeup to the office were deemed as “capable, reliable, and amiable”, equating to “more competent” than those who chose to wear no makeup.(iv)
Girl math…the idea is that any impulse purchase can be justified using the girl math logic (is) in fact not bad logic to spend £50 on new makeup for an interview, if your paycheque is going to increase as a result.
These findings highlight that wearing makeup is not only an aesthetic choice, but a career consideration, and depending on your job can be an aspect of your job description. It was recently publicised that Qantas Airlines will no longer require flight attendants to wear heels and employees will have the choice of whether to wear makeup or not.(v) However, British Airways still requires female cabin crew to wear makeup to work.(vi)
The research has also shown that what is deemed ‘professional’ makeup is also important. Too much, and women are deemed untrustworthy(vii) and unprofessional.(viii) A questionable survey led by St Ives in 2010 which surveyed 2000 adults (focusing far too much on men’s views on women’s makeup), found that one in 20 women had been told off by their boss for overdoing their makeup, and a 2019 study conducted by psychologists from Brussels and the US, found that women who wore heavy eye makeup were found to be the “least warm” and “least competent”.(ix) A 2018 study found that women get taken less seriously as competent leaders when they wear too much makeup.(x)
The side of this not often referred to, is the cost and time implications this also puts on women. The average woman in the United Kingdom will spend £18,000 in their lifetime on makeup and beauty products(xi), and 55 minutes a day ‘getting ready’.(xii) Women are therefore spending over double the time and money to look ‘professional’ than their male counterparts doing the same job,(xiii) as well as most likely being paid less due to the gender pay gap.
Recent data has shown that in an economic downturn women spend more money on beauty, in particular makeup.(ivx) There is the argument that these purchases make women feel better during a time of economic uncertainty, however, the argument can also be made that it is a good financial investment.
Girl math, a trend originating in New Zealand, has become a Tik-Tok phenomenon. The idea is that any impulse purchase can be justified using the girl math logic. However, jokes a side, given the statistics highlighted in the research reports, it is in fact not bad logic to spend £50 on new makeup for an interview, if your paycheque is going to increase as a result.
However, this does not negate from the fact that wearing makeup to work should be a woman’s choice, it should not be an expectation.
i. Rosa Silverman And Agencies, R.S. (2013) Bosses admit they would discriminate against women not wearing makeup, The Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/10385501/Bosses-admit-they-would-discriminate-against-women-not-wearing-makeup.html
ii. Bóo, F.L., Rossi, M.A. and Urzúa, S.S., 2013. The labor market return to an attractive face: Evidence from a field experiment. Economics Letters, 118(1), pp.170-172
iii. Wong, J.S. and Penner, A.M., 2016. Gender and the returns to attractiveness. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 44, pp.113-123
iv. Etcoff, N.L., Stock, S., Haley, L.E., Vickery, S.A. and House, D.M., 2011. Cosmetics as a feature of the extended human phenotype: Modulation of the perception of biologically important facial signals. PloS one, 6(10), p.e25656
v. Australian Associated Press (2023) Qantas to allow flat shoes, makeup and long hair for cabin crew of any gender, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/09/qantas-allows-cabin-crew-of-any-gender-to-wear-flat-shoes-make-up-and-have-long-hair
vi. Hancock, P. and Tyler, M. (2024) Why Virgin Atlantic’s New Makeup Policy is mostly concealer and gloss, The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/why-virgin-atlantics-new-makeup-policy-is-mostly-concealer-and-gloss-113211
vii. Walton Doyle, A. (2023) Are our workplace makeup choices affecting our careers?, Live That Glow | Your Inside Beauty Guide. Available at: https://www.livethatglow.com/makeup-at-work-and-womens-careers/
viii. Fabiano, J. (2020) Women who wear this exact amount of makeup at work are hurting their careers, Ladders. Available at: https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/women-makeup-workplace
ix. Fabiano, J. (2020) Women who wear this exact amount of makeup at work are hurting their careers
x. Fabiano, J. (2020) Women who wear this exact amount of makeup at work are hurting their careers
xi. The price of beauty in the UK 2024 [ infographics] (2023) Hollywood Mirrors. Available at: https://www.hollywoodmirrors.co.uk/blogs/news/the-price-of-beauty-uk-2022-infographics
xii. Melero, A. (2020) Tricks for a quick morning routine: Makeup.com by L’Oréal, makeup.com. Available at: https://www.makeup.com/makeup-tutorials/expert-tips/how-much-time-for-morning-routine
xiii. Walton Doyle, A. (2023) Are our workplace makeup choices affecting our careers?
ivx. Wood, Z. (2022) ‘Lipstick effect’: Britons turn to small luxuries in cost of living crisis, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/oct/14/lipstick-effect-britons--luxuries-cost-of-living-crisis#:~:text=The%20lipstick%20index%2C%20coined%20by,consumers%20battle%20severe%20financial%20headwinds