Studies Show Women Make 20% More Money When They Do This One Thing — 'It's Not Fair, But It's Shockingly Effective'
Research reveals a surprising tactic that gives women a 20% earning boost.
Khaled Ali | Unsplash I’m a self-employed woman who makes roughly six figures a year. I own a house, demand top-dollar for my services, and set my schedule. In under a decade, I’ve renegotiated my rate dozens of times, and I work whenever and wherever I want.
But I have a dirty little secret: I’m 4-foot-11-inches short and usually work in the same clothes I slept in.
My clients, colleagues, and employers have no idea. They’ve never met me in person. Actually, besides the headshot on my website, most of them have never even seen me. I’ve been fully remote since 2016, and my webcam has been conveniently “broken” this entire time.
I purposely hide my appearance from most clients. See, before I was a professional writer, editor, and journalist, I was a waitress at a sports bar.
At 22 years old, I strolled into that HR-less landscape with my resume in hand. Said resume showcased my new English degree and zero experience in the service industry — but I still got a job on the spot.
Was it due to my vivacious personality and extensive knowledge of draft beers? As an introvert with a gluten allergy, probably not. Was it because I’d just lost 60 pounds and looked several years younger than I was? Yeah, most likely.
Our uniform consisted of tight jeans and an even tighter T-shirt. Makeup was required if you wanted tips. Pigtails sealed the deal. Your appearance and your value were intrinsically linked, and if you made a stink about the boss touching your knee, you were gone.
After that gross, gropey experience, I never again wanted to be judged on anything other than my intellect, my work ethic, and my competence.
Yet studies show women who wear make 20% more money, including in corporate jobs.
SmartPhotoLab / Shutterstock
The beauty premium means that workers are financially rewarded or penalized depending on their looks.
A 2023 study compared MBA graduates with plain-looking faces to MBA graduates who were conventionally attractive. After 15 years in the workforce, the most attractive graduates made an average of $5,528 more annually and were 52.4% more likely to hold higher job positions. But for women, it goes so much deeper than facial structure.
Research shows that women’s grooming habits determine how much money they make. When your hair is styled, your nails are manicured, and your face is painted, people find you more attractive — and therefore more capable.
Researchers who conducted a study in the Journal of Economic Psychology wrote: “We discovered a pure makeup premium that was mediated by gender.
Specifically, female trustees with makeup received larger transfers than female trustees without makeup when the trustors were men, even after controlling for female trustees’ levels of attractiveness.”
So just how much does this pure makeup premium pay out?
Women earn 20% more when they wear makeup
On the surface, this sounds awesome. I’m already anticipating men in my comments section saying things like, “Another reason why being a woman is easier. Throw on some mascara and get a raise.”
Dig a little deeper, though, and you’ll realize it’s not a bonus; it’s a tax.
First of all, it’s downright insane that half of our population can roll out of bed, rinse off, and stroll into work bare-faced and respected — while the other half (the half that’s statistically more educated) has to paint, pluck, powder, and preen before they’re considered qualified.
Second, women already make about 20% less money than men for the same jobs. In theory, wearing makeup helps us even the playing field — except for the fact that the average American woman spends a quarter of a million dollars on her appearance throughout her lifetime.
That 20% pay bump is expensive.
That’s why I took my appearance out of the equation
When I work remotely and insist on phone meetings, my clients focus on the words coming out of my mouth, not the color of my lips. When I don’t have to spend hours coifing my hair, contouring my face, and steaming my clothes, I can roll out of bed and hit the ground running on tasks that matter.
When no one knows what I look like, my professional reputation is based on the quality of my work — nothing else. That said, I realize my anonymity is a privilege.
Not all women can skip out on Zoom calls and demand a fully remote schedule. In that case, you have two options: You can use the 20% makeup premium to your advantage (stick to cheap drugstore brands to avoid blowing your whole paycheck), or…
You can also earn more money with these other tactics:
1. Negotiate higher
Studies show that women are less likely to negotiate their salaries than men, and when they do, they ask for less money. As a result, women should negotiate more often and aim higher. On a psychological level, people are more likely to value things (or people) when they cost more. Confidence is key here. Don’t ask for a number; tell them what you’re worth.
I’ve thrown out rates I thought were ridiculous, but because my voice was matter-of-fact, my clients shrugged and said, “Okay, sure, if that’s what you make.”
2. Do your research
Yaroslav Astakhov / Shutterstock
When negotiating a raise, employers may perceive men as “proactive” and women as “pushy” — so lead with cold, hard facts.
Use a salary estimator to determine what you should be making, or ask your coworkers outright. It may be a little awkward, but the National Labor Relations Act protects employees’ right to discuss wages. Personality traits are a matter of perception, but numbers are concrete.
It’s hard to argue with, “Most of my colleagues are making $10,000 more than me. Is this a documented issue with my performance, or can we correct this?”
3. Job-hop
Gone are the days of remaining loyal to a single company for your entire career until you retire with a pension. Now, most corporations value profit over people.
While employees who stay put are lucky if they get a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment, job hoppers see a 35% salary increase over three years and receive two times as many raises as tenured workers. Plus, more jobs on your resume equals more experience. (Don’t let Baby Boomers on LinkedIn tell you otherwise.)
4. Build connections with other women
Over and over again, studies show that women who help other women are more likely to succeed in business. According to research from Harvard Business Review, women who have a close circle of successful women colleagues are more likely to earn solid salaries and land leadership positions.
In other words, if you’re a startup bro without an HR department, my webcam is currently broken.
If you’re a fellow female freelancer shattering ceilings and calling the shots, I have a $1,600 gaming laptop; of course, it can handle Zoom calls.
Maria Cassano is a writer, editor, and journalist whose work has appeared on NBC, Bustle, CNN, The Daily Beast, Food & Wine, and Allure, among others.
