Do attractive people earn more?

Business Daily

BBC

News, Business

4.4 • 796 Ratings

🗓️ 8 March 2023

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How much better off are the better looking? A growing body of research seems to confirm that life is simply easier and more lucrative for attractive people.

Labour economist Daniel Hamermesh has been studying this for years and says beautiful people do get paid more, have less difficulty securing bank loans and are typically offered more jobs, opportunities and perks.

South African fashion model Marike tells us very candidly how her looks means she often gets things for free - meals, experiences, perks. She also talks about the role social media advertising plays in this. She says you can make millions of dollars through social media if you are pretty.

We also hear from author Emily Lauren Dick about how unconscious bias around attractiveness and particularly weight can impact recruitment or promotion opportunities in the workplace.

Producer/presenter: Deborah Weitzmann

(Photo: South African fashion model Marike: Credit: Marike)

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi, Namulanta Combo here and I'm excited to tell you that my award-winning podcast, Dear Daughter, is back for a second season and it's available now. Find out more at the end of this podcast.
0:15.7	Hello, you're listening to Business Daily on the BBC World Service with me, Deborah Weitzman.
0:21.8	On today's program, how much does physical beauty influence our success at work?
0:27.2	Looks matter. Those whom we view is better looking get more out of what they do.
0:31.6	This is ubiquitous in all kinds of very specialized professions.
0:34.9	I'll speak to one fashion model from South Africa
0:37.6	about her experience of being treated differently
0:40.5	just for looking pretty.
0:42.2	You can have free food, if you like, free drinks, coffees,
0:45.6	you can go out to dinners.
0:47.0	It's fantastic to have all these free experiences
0:50.0	by being pretty.
0:52.0	And this isn't just about beauty.
0:54.5	In many parts of the world, it's also about body image
0:57.2	and whether you meet the social ideal of slenderness.
1:00.9	One body image activist based in Canada
1:03.2	tells me the true cost of weight stigma in employment.
1:06.8	That candidates are less likely to be hired
1:09.3	because they're often considered lazy. Companies
1:11.9	need to change their policies to ensure that the workplace is comfortable for everybody.
1:18.4	That's all coming up on Business Daily.
1:24.9	Yeah, side. Fashion-y.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.