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Jan. 31--Like many women, I'm concerned about what I wear to work.
Is the outfit professional enough? Is it comfortable? Does it make me look fat?
Now I have a new question to add -- will my choice of clothing make people think less of my skills?
It could, according to a study done by Lawrence University professor Peter Glick and some of his students. In a study published in the December 2005 edition of Psychology of Women Quarterly, they wrote that if a woman in a managerial position dresses too sexy -- think high heels, a tight skirt and a low-cut blouse -- observers thought less of her intellectual capability.
"A female manager whose appearance emphasized her sexiness elicited less positive emotions, more negative emotions and more perceptions of less competence on a subjective rating scale and less intelligence on an objective scale," Glick and his students wrote in the report.
As part of the study, male and female observers watched a video of a businesswoman discussing her general background and hobbies. The scripts and actresses remained the same, but her dress and job title changed. While a sexy-dressed receptionist didn't generate too much ire, participants thought the sexy manager was less competent compared to her more typically dressed counterpart.
Glick told me the study's results didn't surprise him.
"In our society, if you dress too sexy, people associate that with being a bimbo -- not being a manager," he says. "Although various media outlets encourage women to express their sex appeal -- remember Ally McBeal in those short skirts? -- our research has shown that if a woman wants to get ahead and be respected, she needs to make sure her dress is appropriate."
But before female readers get too worried, Glick then added that the women in the video shown to observers were dressed "very provocatively. Very high heels, a plunging neckline."
An interesting note to Glick's study -- the same clothing didn't interfere with what people thought of a lower-standing employee such as a female receptionist.
"There's a trap out there for women. They are told by the media to be one way and then by actual members of society to follow another path," he says.
"And people seem to think that if a female manager dresses too sexy that she slept to the top," adds Glick, who has done extensive research on sexism.
Glick says the students came up with the idea for the study as part of a course at Lawrence. He found their work so interesting he pushed to have it published. This isn't the first study Glick has published, but it is definitely getting a lot of attention -- the Boston Herald did something on it as well as a newspaper in San Antonio.
"The topic has a lot to do with it. Sex sells," he says.
But apparently not in the boardroom.
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