Two to five times more likely to be convicted of a crime. We say that beauty is only skin deep. We say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some of us may truly believe it. But if the social science testing has any validity at all, we have to accept that we are, as a society, a bunch of hypocrites.
Looks matter a lot.
Jeffes has gathered data to buttress the argument that appearance discrimination should be added to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination based on other factors of affiliation and appearance, such as skin color. Meanwhile, anyone who feels overlooked or outcast because of looks might want to read his book. Jeffes does more than cite discrimination examples. He also gives strategies to help the less comely compete in a world prone to judge books by their covers. Diane Stafford's workplace column appears on Thursdays.