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3/27/05 WORKPLACE Can plunging necklines and tight skirts hamper a career? You bet they can, management experts say. "Dress influences the image that people create about you and how they fill in the blanks," said David A. Thomas, the H. Naylor Fitzhugh professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. Desiree Goodwin, 40, of Arlington, is at the center of a federal court lawsuit that focuses on workplace attire and alleged bias. Brought by Goodwin, an assistant librarian at a Harvard University library, the suit claims a supervisor implied that the reason Goodwin was turned down for promotion 16 times was because of her attire and physical attractiveness. Goodwin contends a supervisor told her in December 2001 that she was viewed as a "pretty girl" who wore "sexy outfits," according to an article in The Boston Globe. She also says other women were not penalized or held back because of the way they dressed. Goodwin, an African-American woman with two advanced degrees from Cornell University, says the jobs she sought were given to women with less experience and education. Reportedly, a supervisor also suggested that Goodwin could apply elsewhere because employers were looking for qualified black applicants. Thomas says nonwhites must be particularly careful about the images they project at work. "If you are in a minority at an organization," he said, "then people are more likely to stereotype you and they are less open to changing their initial impression even if you have changed, especially if those initial impressions were negative. It takes a lot of disconfirming information to overcome that initial impression." Roberta Chinsky Matuson, a principal at Human Resource Solutions in Northampton, disagrees. "I do not believe black, Latina, or Asian women are perceived more critically when it comes to dressing for success and promotions," she says. "Ms. Goodwin may believe that young women who are white dress in a variety of ways but they aren't criticized for it, but there is no way she can know what is being said behind their backs and whether or not their dress has had a negative effect on their career," Chinsky said. "None of us can really know." In her lawsuit, Goodwin alleges that she was so upset about the supervisor's comments that she started wearing baggy clothes to work, but the change did not improve her status on the job. It is possible the loose-fitting sweaters she chose were not authoritative enough, and did not give the impression that she could handle a supervisory position, says Ella L. J. Bell, an assistant professor at the The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College. Bell, author of the 2001 book, "Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women and the Struggle for Professional Identity," says institutions like academic libraries tend to expect more conservative attire. Bell says wearing the wrong clothes can cause others to lose sight of how capable or intelligent women are. "You must always think very carefully about what you are projecting," she said. "Women are either desperate housewives or they are pulling each other's hair on "The Apprentice." So, somehow the issue of competence and power gets lost." And if they are women of color, the stereotypes are sometimes more intense and intractable. "Racialism sexism is alive and well," said Bell. "You are either the young hot woman who is on the prowl, or if you are older, you are the mean, evil and domineering Sapphire." Sapphire was a female African-American character on the old "Amos and Andy" television show, a stereotype who was overly aggressive, domineering, nosey and rarely taken seriously. News articles about Goodwin's case didn't touch on how beauty can affect the way we are perceived or rewarded at work. Yet, physical attractiveness counts. Pop psychologist Nancy Friday, author of the book, "The Power of Beauty," says beauty is definitely "a player...It's power is luminous and monumental." Studies attest to that power. Researchers have found, for example, that attractive people are sought after, promoted, and garner far more attention than their less-attractive peers. At work, they are more likely to be hired, earn more money and are promoted faster. When psychologist Diane Hatfield looked at the power of physical beauty, she found that others tend to project positive attributes onto highly attractive people. So, for example, the physically attractive are seen as interesting, good, vibrant and poised. But sometimes being attractive can backfire. David B. Wilkins, the Kirkland and Ellis professor of law at Harvard Law School, says "attractive women sometimes are not taken seriously..." Wilkins wonders whether women are held to a different standard of dress than men. The answer, he says, is most likely, "Yes." But men, Wilkins says, must also be careful not to go too far. "If a guy came in looking like John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever," it would not help his career," said Wilkins. Many women have trouble figuring out what to wear to work. While they may understand hemlines should hit the knee and cleavage is verboten, they sometimes move too far to the right when looking for appropriate clothing. Instead of looking feminine, they adopt a more masculine approach, according to Lauren Mackler, the founder of Lauren Mackler & Associates LLC, a personal and executive coaching firm in Newton. "Femininity is sensual and should not be hidden," said Mackler. "I do not mean dressing seductively. I mean dressing in a way that enhances what you bring to the table as a woman." When executive women talk about not being taken seriously, Mackler tells them to buy a new "suit with power earrings and jewelry, which is chunky and makes a statement but is also feminine and interesting looking." That look, says Mackler, projects authority without forcing a woman to dress like a man. "Women who dress and act like a guy are overcompensating, they are a construct of the powerful male," she said. Matuson says women who want to move up should dress for the next level. She recommends they emulate their supervisors or more senior members of their management team. Still, she says, younger women are often confused by the mixed messages they get from TV. So, while tight skirts and cleavage are acceptable on popular shows like "The Apprentice," they're not okay in the office. "I've gotten calls from clients who need a dress code because someone showed up at work in a halter," says Matuson. "One mistake many women make is thinking that what works for the weekend works for the office. That might be fine for women on "The Apprentice," but will dressing that casually help you gain credibility in the office?" Diane E. Lewis can be reached at .
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