More than one-in-four women executives would consider cosmetic surgery to improve their career prospects, according to a survey.
The survey by the Aziz Corporation, a communications consultancy, reveals that 26% would consider a facelift, 27% plastic surgery and 28% Botox treatments if they thought it would boost their career prospects.
Less invasive procedures met with almost universal sanction with 94% of women saying that they would consider dying grey hair, closely followed by dieting (92%) and dental work (91%).
The results reveal that male bosses are less vain or feel under less pressure to conform to an ideal image than their female counterparts, almost one in five male directors (19%) would consider plastic surgery. While only 15% of men would contemplate a facelift and 11% Botox treatments, 38% are prepared to dye grey hair and 86% to diet to improve their business prospects.
Professor Khalid Aziz, chairman of The Aziz Corporation, said: “Some of the remedies may be extreme, but there is clearly a growing recognition of how important appearance is to success in business today.”
The research also reveals that smelling of tobacco smoke is the greatest faux pas a man can now make in business. Eighty-five per cent of executives feel that it is unacceptable for men even to smell of smoke during working hours, making it less acceptable than body piercing and ponytails, which are disapproved of by 71% and 57% respectively.
In a further sign of how times have changed, one in three bosses now view stubble as acceptable in business.
The modern phenomenon of the exposed midriff tops the list of pet hates when it comes to the business attire of women. Eighty-eight per cent feel that it is unacceptable to display a bare midriff in the workplace, making it less acceptable than visible tattoos (77%), body piercings (69%) and low-cut tops (64%).
