Attractive businesswomen are perceived as less trustworthy than their co - workers , Washington research University researcher Leah Sheppard has found . Dubbed the " femme fatale effect " , the tests demonstrated these women were also deemed less truthful and more worthy of being fired . Further experiments , which primed women to feel sexually secure , found no difference in the perception of attractive and unattractive women , suggesting that the effect is related to sexual confidence . Sheppard concluded this may result from attractive females being considered a competitive threat , potentially unfaithful , or willing to use their looks to gain employment .
Attractive businesswomen are perceived as less trustworthy than their co-workers, Washington State University researcher Leah Sheppard has found. Dubbed the "femme fatale effect", the tests demonstrated these women were also deemed less truthful and more worthy of being fired. Further experiments, which primed respondents to feel sexually secure, found no difference in the perception of attractive and unattractive women, suggesting that the bias is related to sexual confidence. Sheppard concluded this could stem from attractive females being considered a competitive threat, potentially unfaithful, or willing to use their looks to gain employment.