Dyeing hair to be taken seriously at work

[moutonfou]

Sorry if there's already a thread about this...

I've just been reading this BBC article about a woman who dyes her blonde hair brown to 'be taken more seriously at work'. And also switched to glasses instead of contact lenses.

AIBU to think that hair colour and (lack of) glasses have nothing to do with how you're perceived?

I'm a blonde and have never been treated like a ditzy blonde, because I don't act ditzy. I take my work seriously and accordingly I am taken seriously. I did once work in a very male-dominated industry and found that the main obstacle to fully progressing into the 'boys club' was not being able/willing to play golf for most of the working day. My hair colour had nothing to do with it. My being a woman in general, yes.

AIBU to think that women still face so many genuine obstacles that it's a bit reductive/insulting to suggest we can/should solve them by changing our hair colour?

I remember coming across a statistic that wearing glasses gave the impression of greater intellect but not any more than that. Never heard anything about blondes. Ultimately whether your colleagues respect you or not will depend on your performance at work, glasses and dark hair won't make them think that you are clever if they know that you are actually quite stupid.

Dyed pink hair doesn't fly in the boardroom

At uni I was told to "look less quirky and youthful" (I wore pigtails to keep my hair out of my face) if I wanted to be taken seriously in my chosen career.

Well I have blonde hair AND glasses. People always take me seriously.
(I wouldn't choose to wear glasses but can't bear contacts).

Looking at the photos she was never a blonde, and her roots were awful - I can see that might give a bad impression if high grooming standards are the norm.
I'm short-sighted and have worn glasses and contact lenses exclusively at various times, never noticed a difference in the way I was treated at work. It did make a difference to the way I was treated in social situations.
I've always acted and dressed seriously at work and never took a flirtatious approach to networking or office politics. If I had then glasses probably would have flattened the effect of that somewhat.

Huh.

Far be it from me to be bitchy ()- but if you look at her "blonde" hair, you'll see it was actually a very cheap and nasty bleach job.

Swapping it for something more natural does look smarter, and more professional IMO.

Dodgy home dye jobs just don't really scream success. Let's be honest.

Regarding dyeing blonde hair brown, I don't think it's specifically hair colour that's an issue at all. I've had plenty of blonde bosses and nobody has taken them anything less than seriously. I think it's much about persona and the way people present themselves.

There are definitely barriers for women being taken seriously in some workplaces, but hair colour alone certainly isn't one of them.

Dyed pink hair doesn't fly in the boardroom

It really depends on the company. Not if you work at an investment bank or a corporate law firm, perhaps, but nobody would bat an eyelid at at pink hair in the boardroom at a software company, a design firm, a creative marketing agency etc.

It's more how you carry your self, conduct yourself and what u wear imo

I don't think hair colour comes into it. It is how you come across, your body language, confidence level etc.

It wasn't between blonde and brown, but that her dye job didn't look professional. If she had a professional hair dye and styling, then it would have looked completely different. There's also an aspect of dressing appropriately for a job interview. Unless a particularly creative industry, then going more conservative at an interview is always a sensible choice.

Happy actually, dyed pink hair does "fly in the Boardroom" as demonstrated by our highly professional, hugely talented and well respected Director of Ops....

I've just gone from very dark brown to light blonde and have had nothing but compliments (even from our CEO!) but maybe that's because of my geeky specs

I have blonde hair and wear contacts, I've never been treated any differently

How sad that she doesn't feel she can challenge the stereotype. She's just accepted that she has to dye her hair brown, never wears heels anymore, has ditched all make up and although she used to enjoy getting manicures, has stopped.
Oh and she's walking about in those horrible glasses.

This was all prompted by a female colleague telling her that this is the way to be taken seriously at work. She calls herself a feminist "like her mother" but this is just dressing for men, ditching your femininity for fear of men's reaction.

Unfortunately though @OliviaStabler, hair colour does come into, as displayed already on this thread, in prejudice against "unnatural" hair colour. Two posts in, and already someone is stating categorically that you can't have pink hair. Why is this?

If I'm wearing a conservative work dress, smart jacket and appropriate shoes, why shouldn't my hair be pink? Pinned up in a pleat or a neat bun, or cut into a bob or crop, but purple or aqua? I honestly don't see what difference it makes, but it does. I'd love to know why.

I hate the myth that enjoying make up or clothes makes you vacuous, or weak. It is possible to be highly intelligent and command respect in the work place whilst wearing lipstick or having blonde hair.

It's a very outdated view, a bit like parents labeling their daughters as the "beauty" or the "brains" of the family. What a load of rubbish.

My hair has been blonde, brown and auburn. I sometimes wear glasses and other times wear contact lenses. I haven't noticed a difference in how I'm treated at work.
In social situations, yy but not in work.

has ditched all make up

Although she says she stopped wearing makeup, she actually looks like she's wearing only a tiny amount of makeup in the before and the after picture, really. If anything, she looks like she's wearing more in the after picture in which she's wearing lipstick. She's got a slightly darker hair colour and a pair of specs but she really doesn't look that different at all.

Re-reading it, there quite a few contradictions in the article, I think; it doesn't really stand up to much scrutiny. She says that she changed her appearance to be taken seriously but then later she says that she actually likes wearing flat shoes and no make-up and dressing more 'comfortably', so it doesn't actually seem that clear-cut to me.

I hate the myth that enjoying make up or clothes makes you vacuous, or weak.

Completely agree. I absolutely love makeup and was recently told by someone (online, so they didn't know what I looked like) that they were 'surprised I was into that sort of thing' because I'm also interested in literature and politics. As if those things are somehow mutually exclusive.

I agree Polly. It's her choice to dress the way she does but don't dress it up as being a feminist.
If men in the work place can't respect women dressed or made up attractively then that's their issue and why should women bow down to that? The more women buy into that, then the more it will go unchallenged.

I think it looks more professional to not wear your hair all hanging over your face as she does. To me that looks like hiding behind your hair and a lack of confidence.

I usually have either bright pink or bright red hair, and a very serious job. It hasn't held me back and I am complimented on my hair regularly. Years ago I had a bad dye that made me look like a lit match, bright orange. Was not a good look. I went into work fully expecting to be sent home or asked to change it, but my boss looked at me like I was mad and said my hair doesn't do the work, I do, and he couldn't care less if it was orange, blue or green.

Ultimately whether your colleagues respect you or not will depend on your performance at work, glasses and dark hair won't make them think that you are clever if they know that you are actually quite stupid

I don't think hair dye fixes things, but find it laughable to assert that one is judged by performance. If this was the case, then women would have nothing to be concerned about in the workplace.

I was raised by parents who taught me there's only one type of work for a woman who wears make up to make money.
I've never found it easy to know how to dress as a result and I just look ridiculous with makeup and unattractive without.
I am just jealous of everyone who finds all of it a choice really.

When I'm blonde I look much younger and am treated as such

I have pink hair and nobody takes me seriously, but they never did as a brunette either.

If I was taken seriously I would think I'd failed at life.

I work in academia where there's no smart dress code and some people men come to work dressed like they just woke up five minutes ago in a skip.

In this environment, I feel like I'm taken less seriously because I actually make an effort and enjoy hair care and make-up.
I have bleached iced white hair with black roots which I often colour with pink underneath-y bits. I also wear lots of make-up because I love it. People at work think I'm some kind of party animal but I'm really not.

A few years ago, I had mousey-brown hair (natural hair colour) and didn't wear make-up much and I felt I was taken much more seriously.