Women, Make-up, Power and Promotion. The Inconvenient Truth Nobody Likes to Admit

Before I wrote my book, hair and makeup was not my thing and I am still not convinced it is. But when the publisher booked promo shots, suddenly I was being powdered like a pastry. Then the TV work began and before anyone even said “hello”, I was already being shoved into the makeup chair. Apparently this is called looking the part. In some circles it is also called being professional. I can just imagine the reaction if I rocked up to a keynote plain- faced, hair in a bun, looking like I had wandered out of Sainsbury’s for a pint of milk.

At some point in every woman’s career, there comes that moment. You walk into a meeting bare faced, feeling quietly powerful, only for someone to ask if you are tired. Or unwell. Or “taking a mental health day”. Meanwhile your male colleague arrives looking like he fell asleep fully clothed on the Northern line and earns praise for being “relaxed”. I adore men, but honestly.

This is the bit where people expect me to say we should all turn up fresh faced and insist on being judged on intellectual brilliance alone. Lovely idea. Very wholesome. Very not happening this century.

I am a pragmatist. Humans are visual creatures. People make snap judgements in under ten seconds and the science backs it. Research shows that appearance shapes perceived competence, trustworthiness and leadership potential long before a woman opens her mouth. In the absence of anything else, people default to what they see. Someone is already typing angrily that it is shallow. It is shallow. It is also the world we live in.

Here is the part many prefer to ignore. Men can look like they have been dragged through a hedge backwards and still be called windswept and interesting. Women attempt the same look and suddenly we are the cautionary tale whispered about in the kitchen. The double standard is ancient. It is exhausting. Pretending it does not exist does not make it disappear.

The research is uncomfortable but firm. Women who wear makeup earn more over the span of their careers. Appearance accounts for a chunk of what people call executive presence. Senior leaders admit, sometimes reluctantly, that looks influence promotion decisions. We can argue about morality but the data is louder.

To me, this is not strictly a workplace issue. It is a societal one that leaks into every corner of our lives. Women are taught early to present themselves carefully. Then we enter the workplace and are told to relax, be natural, stop being vain. The second we do, we are punished for it. It is the professional version of the man outside Tesco telling you to “smile”. Damned if you do. Damned if you do not. And if you doubt it, picture Kamala Harris on the campaign trail without makeup. You already know exactly what the headlines would say.

And before anyone comes for me, let me clarify. I am not advocating for daily contouring sessions or keeping a glam squad under your desk. There is a difference between looking like you made an effort and turning up like you are walking the Met Gala carpet. Most women know the difference instinctively. Presenting yourself well is not selling out. It is strategy. It is armour. It is saying, “I understand the game and I am choosing to play it so I can get into the rooms where change actually happens”.

Here is the twist. Women in leadership are the ones who can reset these standards. They can show that competence has no lipstick requirement. They can shift the culture from within. But you cannot change a system you are not inside. So if a bit of concealer helps you get into the room where the decisions are made, do what you must. This is not capitulation. This is long game energy.

I wish the world worked differently. I wish women could roll out of bed, scoop our hair into a bun and be promoted on merit alone. One day, maybe. For now, the truth is simple. Presentation matters. Image matters. People decide who you are before you say a single word.

It should not matter. But it does.

So use it. Win first. Then rewrite the rules for the women coming behind you. That is leadership. That is legacy. And that, my friend, is how you move the needle.

P.S. If you are a woman in leadership juggling too much? Let’s fix that. Book a quick chat with me here.