Gender benders and job contenders: cosmetics in selection contexts for women and men

• Date: 08 February 2023
• Pages: 737-753
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-03-2022-0080
• Published date: 08 February 2023
• Author: Liana Bernard,Lauren S. Park,Larry R. Martinez,Kay Kulason

Gender benders and job

contenders: cosmetics in selection

contexts for women and men

Liana Bernard, Lauren S. Park, Larry R. Martinez and Kay Kulason

Department of Psychology, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, USA

Abstract

Purpose –The aim of the present study was to contribute to the workplace diversity literature by

experimentally manipulating gender expression through the use of makeup among women and men to

determine makeup’s impact on interpersonal discrimination in a real-world job selection context.

Design/methodology/approach –In an experimental field study, we applied either real (i.e. tinted) or

placebo (i.e. transparent) cosmetic products to women and men confederate applicants. The women and men

engaged in job inquiry and pre-interview conversations with store personnel in 136 retail stores across 3

shopping malls that were randomly assigned to one of 4 conditions in a 2 (confederategender: women versus

men) by 2 (cosmetic usage: real versus placebo) experimental design. The confederate applicants were

accompanied by confederate observers and recorded interactions were later analyzed by naı€ve coders. The

applicants, observers, and naı€ve coders rated interpersonal discrimination from store personnel in each

interaction.

Findings –As hypothesized, women who enhanced their femininity through the use of makeup experienced

significantly less interpersonal discrimination than women who did not. In contrast, there was no significant

difference in interpersonal discrimination for men as a function of visual gender expression.

Originality/value –These findings highlight the pervasive gender norm expectations for women at work by

examining gender non-conformity of women and men.

Keywords Cosmetics, Field experiment, Discrimination, Selection, Gender

Paper type Research paper

Perceptions of gender serve as a foundational framework from which individuals make

assessments, generate expectations and alter their behavior toward others (Heilman, 2012;

Ridgeway and Correll, 2004). Indeed, gender is among the first noteworthy characteristics

individuals observe in others, which is used to generate stereotypes and align one’s behavior

with schemas and social norms of communication with the gendered individual in question

(Contreras et al., 2013). Gender has been found to have several important implications for

workplace outcomes both for women (Bielby and Baron, 1986;Heilman, 2012;King et al.,

2012) and for men (Rudman and Mescher, 2013;Vandello et al., 2013). As a result, individuals

manage or alter their expression of gender based on interpersonal and contextual cues in the

workplace. In addition to initial assessments of others’genders, facial features and expressive

cues provide important information such as whether an individual is a threat, a good leader,

cooperative, or selfish (i.e. stereoty pes, Andreoni and Petrie, 2008;Hugenberg and

Bodenhausen, 2003). A common method of altering or enhancing one’s features in

gendered ways is through the use of facial cosmetics, which can influence others’perceptions.

People devote large amounts of time applying cosmetic products (i.e. makeup), which

sustains over a five-billion-dollar industry (Biron, 2019;Dahl, 2014). Individuals may

rationalize their use of cosmetics based on a variety of personal philosophies, including

Gender

benders and

cosmetics

737

Funding: Portions of this research were funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (No: T03OH008435). Its contents are solely the

responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of National Institute of

Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or Health and Human Services (HHS).

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/2040-7149.htm

Received 30 March 2022

Revised 29 July 2022

17 November 2022

Accepted 24 November 2022

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 42 No. 6, 2023

pp. 737-753

© Emerald Publishing Limited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-03-2022-0080

attempts to express themselves authentically or as an instrument to manage others’

impressions of them. An abundance of empirical and theoretical scholarship suggests that

individuals who possess devalued characteristics –such as womanhood –employ strategies

to manage the possible negative impact of those identities in a workplace setting (Clair

et al., 2005;Jones et al., 1984;Roberts, 2005). Cosmetic usage is a form of both gender

expression and impression management typically used by feminine presenting people to

adapt their gender presentation or alter others’perceptions of their faces. However, men are

increasingly using cosmetics as well, a trend that has yet been unexamined in workplace

contexts.

Although the only factors that should influence personnel selection are the job-relevant

knowledge, skills and abilities identified through job analytic techniques, a multitude of

unrelated individual characteristics have been found to introduce bias in hiring interactions,

such as body size (King et al., 2006), religious identity (King and Ahmad, 2010), drug use

(Young et al., 2005), and sexual orientation (Singletary and Hebl, 2009). Importantly, women

face a dilemma in which they face hostility for not adhering to societal gender norms,

particularly in work contexts. Indeed, in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins (1989), Ann Hopkins

sued her employers for sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 after

being denied partnership for not adhering to others’expectations for feminine appearance

and behavior, including (lack of) cosmetic usage. This poignant example is indicative of a

pervasive pressure for women to adhere to traditional gender norms related to physical

appearance in work contexts. However, there have been few concerted efforts to understand

the impact of cosmetic usage in organizational settings, particularly in recent years.

Selection contexts are particularly likely to elicit bias from perceivers due to a lack of prior

information about applicants and subsequent heavy reliance on stereotyping to efficiently

process information about applicants (Madera and Hebl, 2012;Singletary and Hebl, 2009).

Therefore, it is imperative to examine whether individuals’experiences in selection contexts

are biased by the application of cosmetics. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact

of gendered expression through cosmetics on women’s and men’s experienced interpersonal

discrimination in a field experimental study within a selection context.

Our study offers several contributions to the literature. First, it expands the interpersonal

discrimination literature by examining the influence of visual gender expression on

interpersonal discrimination among both women and men. Prior literature has demonstrated

interpersonal discrimination in several job-related selection-based experimental field studies

directed at individuals on the basis of body size (King et al., 2006), religious identity (King and

Ahmad, 2010), drug use (Young et al., 2005), and sexual orientation (Hebl et al., 2002;

Singletary and Hebl, 2009). Within this stream of literature, hostile and benevolent sexism

been examined toward mothers (Hebl et al., 2007)–inherently gendered phenomena –yet

gender expression unrelated to parenthood has yet to be examined within the interpersonal

discrimination literature.

Second, the present study extends the femininity stigma literature (Rudman and Mescher,

2013;Tilcsik, 2011;Heilman and Wallen, 2010) by examining the effects of visual gender

expression. Traditionally, the femininity stigma literature has focused on men who behave in

stereotypically feminine ways (e.g. requesting family leave or engaging in romantic

relationships with men). The femininity stigma literature has yet to examine how perceivers

react to men who engage in visual feminine gender expression –like wearing feminine attire

or using facial cosmetics.

Finally, the present study complements prior qualitative literature that examined reasons

why women wear makeup at work (Dellinger and Williams, 1997;Schilt and Connell, 2007).

Dellinger and Williams (1997) found that women experienced internalized pressure to wear

makeup at work, despite acknowledging concerns about internalized sexism associated with

conforming to gender norms by wearing makeup, even when they did not want to. Schilt and

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