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Wednesday, November 26, 2008 / The Standard

Women who send flirtatious e­mail, wear short skirts or massage a man's shoulders at work win fewer pay raises and promotions, according to a Tulane University study.

Women in the workplace who draw attention with short skirts, like Sharon Stone in 'Basic Instinct,' may not get the promotion they are after.

In the first study to make plain the negative consequences of such be­havior, 49per cent of 164 female MBA graduates said in a survey they had tried to advance in their careers by sometimes engaging in at least one of 10 sexual behaviors, including cross­ing their legs provocatively or leaning over a table to let men look down their shirts.

The other half said they never en­gaged in such activity, and those women have earned an average of three promotions compared to two for the group that had employed sex­uality.

Those who said they never used sexuality were, on average, in the $75,000-$100,000 income range; the others fell, on average, in the next­ lowest range, $50,000 to $75,000.

The women in the study ranged in age from their mid 20s to 60. The av­erage woman was 43 and had re­ceived an MBA 12 years ago.

Academic experts have not stud­ied the use of sexual behavior in the workplace.

After searching managerial litera­ture, Tulane professor Arthur Brief and colleagues Suzanne Chan-Sera­fin, Jill Bradley and Maria Watkins found no evidence showing such be­havior to be effective or ineffective.

Brief said the research had been limited in scope to sexual harass­ment. This study is ground-breaking, he said, probably because the topic of workplace sexuality is considered a taboo.

"It's too lurid for some and too politically incorrect for others," he said.That has created a vacuum filled by those such as Donald Trump who has advised women to use those God-given 'assets and be sexy, at least to a point.

Such statements are not unchal­lenged, and Dianne Durkin, presi­dent of management consulting firm Loyalty Factor, says any unprofes­sional behavior is detrimental to a career. "Cleavage is not a plus," she says.

The Tulane study's findings are statistically significant to profession­al women looking for career advance­ment, Brief said.

The 10 questions, including, "I al­low men to linger at certain places of my body while hugging them," were developed from a focus group of women in pharmaceutical sales who said they either employed or wit­nessed such behavior.

Brief said the study goes so far as to suggest that women should even be careful about letting men open doors or lift boxes that aren't particu­larly heavy, because chivalry is "be­nevolent sexism" that advances the

WEDNESDAY WOMAN! Page 25

A study shows women who try to flirt to get promotions and salary raises can succeed but not always.

stereotype that women are vulnera­ble and weak.

"Our story is really a feminist sto­ry, because we argue that there are negative consequences for women .who use sexuality in the workplace," Brief says.

But Durkin says the pendulum can swing too far, and she praises men for opening doors, says hugs be­tween longtime business friends are okay, and is happy that more femi­nine attire has replaced the female suit and tie.

Almost all the women in the Tulane study who said they used sexual behavior said they did so infrequent­Iy.

But executive coach Debra Ben­ton, who has long asked business leaders about the pros and cons of sexuality in the workplace, said that if a similar survey were given to men, they would say that women use sexu­ality "all the time."

Women need to be aware that when they say "It's a nice day," men will often conclude "She wants me," Benton says.