Researchers have discovered there could be a good reason why women spend so long in the morning getting ready for work – they get paid more if they wear makeup and do their hair. Sociologists Jaclyn Wong and Andrew Penner concluded that attractive people get paid around 20 per cent more than what they called "average" people. They found that both physically attractive men and women tended to earn more than average-looking employees. They added that the more a woman cared about her looks, the more attractive she appeared. Ms Wong said: "For men, only about half of the effect of attractiveness is due to grooming….I think that we more readily judge women, and so presentation becomes important to them."

 

The study was conducted by the universities of Chicago and California. It will be published in the journal Research in Social Stratification and Mobility. The researchers analysed data from 14,000 participants who were questioned about their salary, job, education, personality, social behaviour and other characteristics. The interviewers were also asked to rate each participant on how attractive and well groomed they were. Researchers said people were biased when it comes to beauty because of a 'halo effect'. People think someone who is attractive on the outside will also be beautiful on the inside. The researchers noted that the idea that humans are influenced by beauty bias is not new.