Reddit reviews Executive Presence: The Missing Link Between Merit and Success

No problem! Let me know what you think of this list I pulled together:

1) Getting the easy one out of the way, plus size clothing sections and stores are common for women, but not for men. Men either shop in the regular department or, if need be, Big & Tall. Women have separate departments for sizes 12+ in most major stores, and if you Google "plus size clothing stores" you'll get all stores for women (at least I did). Even when I Googled "clothes for fat people" all the results I got were female-related. When I searched for "big and tall" I finally got results for men, though most results are for items that will still be found in the general "men's" department, not a department of their own. (Not that they should have a department of their own, just the discrepancy between how men and women are treated in this area doesn't make sense to me.)

2) The common sentiments from transgendered people who have lived as both sexes are that, firstly, men are taken more seriously than women, and, secondly, that appearance matters far more when you're a woman. To quote /r/IAMA's most recent transgender AMA:

>One thing that stands out to me is the experience of size. When I lived as a teenage girl I was constantly thinking about my weight. The world is filled with messages from family, friends, and media telling teen girls they need to lose weight and whatnot. I didn't like to admit it, but it was affecting me to some degree. Now, as a guy, I don't hear much of those messages anymore. It's not that they stopped, but I just can't hear them as much because I'm socialized as a guy now. As a guy, it's a nice thing if you're ripped but it's also no big deal if you're average or overweight. It's not considered the main thing about the man, like it is about a woman. I've been basically the same weight all my life since age 12 (120-130 lbs) but as a male I never feel bad about it.

3) According to a major survey conducted by the Center for Talent Innovation and detailed in the book "Executive Presence," senior executives listed twice as many appearance blunders committed by women than men. Additionally, women were judged more harshly. For example, a woman might be seen as lacking leadership skills if she's overweight, while a man receives the same judgment if obese.

4) Looking at media, it's not terribly uncommon to see an overweight man with a fit wife. Sometimes you'll see both the man and woman unfit. If there's an example somewhere of an overweight woman with a fit husband, I haven't seen it.

5) Similarly, males in video games are allowed to be young, old, fat, thin, ginormous, etc. Women are predominantly fit and busty. The character design for Overwatch is a good example of this. Look at the wide range of male body types! The women? All fit and busty. (For anyone seeking to give me the "but it's made for men!" line; I've heard it. Doesn't change how things are.)

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Despite me feeling the above are solid examples, I want to give you a few peer reviewed studies to avoid feeling like I'm giving you a list of anecdotes:

6) Results showed that females are more concerned than males about eating, body weight, and physical appearance and have lower appearance self-esteem. More important, these gender differences are generally apparent at all ages.

7) Relationships between body surveillance, body shame, and body esteem were stronger for women than for men. Women had higher surveillance,body shame, and actual/ideal weight discrepancy, and lower body esteem than did men. Multiple regression analysis found that gender differences in body esteem were no longer significant when OBC was entered into the equation, supporting feminist theory about women's body experience.

8) tldr: Study measures various factors influencing career success, one of the conclusions is that "poor in physical appearance" is a damning factor specifically for women.

9) Our annual global investment in appearance totals close to $200 billion. Many individuals experience stigma, discrimination, and related difficulties, such as eating disorders, depression, and risky dieting and cosmetic procedures. Women bear a vastly disproportionate share of these costs, in part because they face standards more exacting than those for men, and pay greater penalties for falling short.

10) This study both discusses how obese people make less than non-obese people, but also found that overweight women are more likely to have a low-paying job than overweight men.

11) Women were at greater risk for weight/height discrimination than men, especially women with a BMI of 30–35 who were three times more likely to report weight/height discrimination compared to male peers of a similar weight.

Congrats on your promotion!

You might want to check out this book called “Executive Presence.” (Here’s the link on Amazon.) It focuses a lot on helping those who may not have the qualities or appearance of stereotypical exec exude the gravitas and confidence of a capable leader. Hopefully it’ll help you "establish yourself as The Boss.”

And actually, the company I work for has a blog with some posts written for new project managers that covers the basics. There’s a glossary of project management terms, an overview of common methodologies, a guide to project risk, and an introduction to using Gantt charts. I hope you find the information useful, and good luck!

This is a decent book that explains the ethereal and concrete characteristics of "executive presence." It might help.