The Gap Within the Gender Gap

Would you be surprised if someone told you women with blonde hair are paid seven percent more than women with other hair colors?

According to a study by researchers at the University of Queensland, they do. And, that probably doesn’t surprise you.

Of the 42 Fortune 1000 CEOs, the highest ranking, Meg Whitman of HP and Virginia Rometty of IBM, are both blondes.

Attractiveness, by Western standards, has long been measured against that of women stemming from Anglo-Saxon and Caucasian descent – blonde hair being a more prevalent, naturally-occurring characteristic than among other ethnicities.

Overall, white women are paid higher salaries than minority women.

In a discussion with the Los Angeles Times about his book, In Your Face: The New Science of Human Attraction, experimental psychologist David Perrett (indirectly) explains why blondes are having more fun in their bank accounts.

Smaller noses, typically seen in white women, are considered more feminine than the larger noses of Middle Eastern, African and Asian women – something likely less linked to attractiveness than it is to “averageness.”

Perrett’s conclusion that we are more inclined to find beauty in what is familiar is perhaps what is most important in deciphering a ways to counteract discrimination on the basis of physical appearance.

The vast majority of American corporate executives are white males, more “familiar” with Western ideals of beauty.

With the exception of Asian women, considered “model minorities,” earning 87 cents on the dollar compared to white men, black women earn 69 cents per dollar and Latina women earn 60 cents per dollar compared to white women earning 82 cents on the dollar.

Now, we can look at the fact that men are still making more than all of us. Or we can compare apples to apples.

How do women achieve pay equity outside of our gender without pay equity amongst us?

The earning power of minority women greatly affects their abilities to gain the socio-economic traction. But, in reality, they cannot compete with Western standards of beauty without plastic surgery and skin bleaching procedures.

In order to really tap into the third billion, familiarity has to become a thing of the past. If only certain groups of women are making strides, can we really call that progress?

By L. Nicole Williams

Nicole is the Editor of Little PINK Book. Follow her on Twitter @iamnicwill.