The beauty bonus at face value

 

It takes more than hard work to earn good wages. Kristina Greene puts some questions to Professor Daniel Hamermesh about how physical attractiveness affects earnings.

University Of Texas economics professor Daniel Hamermesh rates himself "middle range" on the beauty scale, but there is a price for being ugly.

Why is beauty a factor in earnings?

For some reason we are almost biologically programmed to prefer better-looking people – in ancient times those people were viewed as likely partners for reproduction. Symmetry of face indicated good health. Now, of course, this doesn't matter, but we still like to deal with good-looking people. I like looking at good-looking people. It's the same when I'm in an art gallery.  So attractiveness affects your chances at employment and earnings. Altogether, race matters, gender matters and looks matter.

What is the difference on the pay slip?

We estimate that between men in North America that belong to the top third of good looks and the bottom sixth there is a difference of 12 to 15 per cent in earnings, everything else being the same.  That is the equivalent in the United States to a year or a year and a half of extra education. So clearly education matters a lot more. But (work) experience matters as well. Per year of experience, the average person will have 3 per cent more in earnings. After five years, that will matter as much as beauty.  With demographic and labour market characteristics holding constant, plain people earn less than people of average looks, who earn less than the good-looking. The penalty for plainness is 5 to 10 per cent, slightly larger than the premium for beauty.

Does that mean if I am ugly, I should not put a photo on my resume?

The problem is, if everyone starts doing that, the people who don't will be assumed to be bad-looking. In the US, employers are not allowed to require pictures for applications, but there's nothing to prevent applicants from doing it. If I were the most beautiful person around, I would sure do it.

Conversely, can being too attractive lower one's chance of good earnings?

You are talking about the bimbo effect, when a woman is very good-looking, and most people will think she is incompetent. It does not seem to go that way. We found only one piece of evidence that being too attractive lowers one's success (in earnings). That was in a small group of female lawyers. Other than that, being above average to very good-looking is still beneficial.  There is a question about whether good looks are more productive to the employer, whether someone with good looks attracts more customers.

That also leads to a question about discrimination. In the US, there are a couple of states that have enacted ordinances to protect the ugly.

Is attractiveness determined by culture?

No. People seem to view beauty the same way. It is very clear from experiments done by psychologists that people agree on certain facial characteristics as being beautiful.  Beauty is neither racial nor cultural. It is not a question of age either – people who are viewed as good-looking when they are young are typically regarded as good-looking when they grow older. There was a wonderful paper done where they asked people to rate the photographs of 10-year-olds and then to rate the photographs of the same people when they were 50 – they were still considered good-lookers.

India to have US-style FDA soon

 

NEW DELHI: Beauty creams promising to remove stretch marks and improve fairness in a week, herbal teas promising instant weight loss, drugs guaranteeing to treat impotency or prolong sexual drive and hospitals luring people by promising to have an answer for diseases like AIDS, diabetes and psoriasis. All these will soon come under the scanner.

The health ministry has decided to set up an autonomous Drug Control Authority of India (DCAI), which will be a close replica of the Food and Drugs Authority of the United States.

Claims made by any product will now have to be scientifically proven before DCAI prior to their being launched in the market.

By amending the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and the Drugs and Magic Drugs Act, the ministry has also decided to make it mandatory for all cosmetic companies to mention the ingredients used on the product before it is sold in the market, failing which the licence of the company will be revoked.

 

 

 

Giving back to the community

For information on Look Good, Feel Better, please call 1-800-ACS-2345 (1-800-227-2345) or visit the American Cancer Society's Web site at www.cancer.org.

 

Ad campaigns tell women to celebrate who they are

 

 NEW YORK — Some health and beauty marketers are trying to send a message about body image that many parents have tried to teach their daughters for years: Be happy with who you are.

North Adams - Local beauty salons have been invited to participate in a contest that could earn them free lunch. REACH for Breast Health, through a grant with the Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund, organized the contest where local salons will pass out pink cards to their customers, urging them to get their yearly mammogram and breast exam.

Six North Adams salons, two Adams salons and three Williamstown salons were invited to participate. They include CG's Hair Design, Colonial Cuts, Contemporary Hair, Kim's Kut's, LA Trends, Newaves Unisex, Orchid Beauty Salon, The Styling Studio, The Clip Shop, The Cutting Edge and Village Coiffs Hair Shop.

Women customers of these shops will be given a bright pink card that urges them to get their yearly mammogram and breast exam. If a woman follows through and gets her yearly mammogram and breast exam because of the salon's promotion, credit will be given to that shop. The customer must turn in her card to the Medical Imaging Department at North Adams Regional Hospital, or to the REACH offices for the salon to get credit.

The salon with the most completed referrals will win free lunch for their salon in September. The contest runs through August 30, 2005.

"We were looking for an outlet that could reach hundreds of women," said REACH Community Health Advocate Sharon Leary, "and we decided a good opportunity was to bring it to where all women go: their hairdresser." "All of the salons participating are excited about the program. It's great to know that they care about their customers' health as well as their beauty," Leary added.

In addition to the salon getting credit towards free lunch, there is also an incentive designed for their customers to get their mammogram. If a woman has not had a mammogram in two years, she will receive a $10 gift card to a local supermarket.

The Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund awarded a grant for $20,000 to the REACH for Breast Health Program earlier this year. The grant is being used to increase awareness of the life-saving benefits of early detection of breast cancer, and increase screening rates among uninsured, low-income, and elderly women.

REACH for Breast Health is a comprehensive breast health program serving the women of Northern Berkshire, and is a member of the National Consortium of Breast Centers. Carol Guernsey, RN and Certified Breast Health Specialist, serves as Program Manager. The program is supported by grants from the Avon Breast Care Foundation and the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Massachusetts Affiliate.

The REACH Community Health Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the health of the Northern Berkshire community. A subsidiary of the Northern Berkshire Healthcare, REACH organizes an array of initiatives in health education, treatment services, disease prevention, research, and advocacy. In addition to REACH for Breast Health, REACH runs programs in fitness and nutrition, caregiver support, tobacco cessation, dental health, children's health, and men's health.

For more information on REACH for Breast Health, please call Carol Guernsey at (413) 664-5170, or Sharon Leary at (413) 664-5404.