OF THE 100 women listed on Forbes' Most Powerful Women 2010
list, Temasek Holdings' Chief Executive Ho Ching and Singapore
Telecom's Group Chief Executive Chua Sock Koong are ranked 30th and
71st respectively. It is also interesting to note that apart from
them, more than 50 per cent of the 100 women on the list sport
short hair.
Do women feel having short hair projects a more 'masculine'
image that gets them accepted in the male-dominated corporate
world?
Former Miss Singapore Teo Ser Lee, 45, who is now an image
consultant, agrees.
'First impressions are made within the first five to seven
seconds. So women with shorter hair are perceived to be more
serious, more masculine, more authoritative. Women with longer hair
are seen as more feminine, sometimes even sexier.'
The 45-year-old says that even as General Manager of a
multi-national corporation, she was often judged based on her
appearance and discriminated against because she had long hair.
'They would ask, why is she in long hair and always so dressed
up? They would think that maybe she is trying to seduce the clients
or she is trying to be sexy,' she shared
But she persevered - and kept her tresses - and now runs her own
successful company, Protocol Academy.
Angela Ling, a brand and communications manager at MSIG, had a
different experience. She feels that her long hair did not hinder
her career progress. Women RazorTV spoke with also added that merit
and capability were the main contributing factors to a female
executive's career growth.
More on the debate and some tips from Ms Teo on how female
executives can protect their career while retaining their long,
glamorous locks.
-- ST