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Your work clothes should be tight enough to show you’re a woman, but loose enough to get you the promotion your deserve.
Physical attractiveness is not usually a handicap. Having it can almost always assure anyone a boost up the corporate ladder. Drawing attention to your curves, though, may result in you being overlooked for promotions and raises or terminated. That’s despite stellar performances and glowing reviews. And please do not get self-righteous about your freedom to be who you are. I am all for bold expressions of personality, but rarely is freedom of 9-5 expressions worth losing your job over.
You may recall, in 2009, sexy Debralee Lorenzana was given the boot from her Manhattan Citibank job. Her bosses informed the 33-year-old Puerto Rican woman that they could not concentrate on their work. That’s because her sexy outfits were too distracting. She was asked to stop wearing form-fitted turtlenecks, pencil skirts, and 3-inch heels and was dismissed soon after.
The reality is form-fitting clothing always looks overly sexy on women with large chests and voluptuous bodies. (It is what it is!) As seen with Lorenzana, having an extra curvy body, can work against you, landing you the title of Office Vixen.
Modesty Is A Virtue
Shapely women need to be mindful of the messages they send when they display their sexy side. Opportunities to rise to the top are not handed to women often, especially in a down economy. Sexy ladies, I encourage you to do everything you can to ensure your sensuality never takes the limelight away from your qualifications or subjects you to sexually related comments.
In a study, 49 % of 164 MBA graduates admitted that they have tried to advance their careers by sometimes engaging in at least 1-10 sexual behaviors, including crossing their legs seductively and leaning over a table to let male higher-ups peak down their tops.
The researchers found that the women who claimed that they never engaged in such behavior received an average of three promotions. Women who partook in flirting and other sexual behaviors received just two promotions. What’s more, women who did not engage in sexual behavior were in the $75K-$100K income range; the women who did earned just $55-$75K.
The bottom line is if you look and act too sexy, your superiors may see you more as the prettiest (but not the brightest) crayon in the box. That’s certainly not how most career-minded women want to be seen.