Sheppard acknowledged that the results of her study show the double-bind that women find themselves in when considering how to present themselves in the workplace. There are, she said, “two duelling stereotypes here. You have the ‘what is beautiful is good’ stereotype, meaning that in general attractive people should fare better across their lifespan.”

While this is “generally true”, Sheppard said, “it becomes a bit more nuanced when we look at gender. For women there are certain contexts in which they don’t seem to benefit from their beauty.”

If you want to go and scream out of the window for a bit, you have my permission. Because it’s difficult to know what to do with this information, as grimly intriguing as it is. We live in a world that puts a suffocating premium on female beauty, then tells us that people won’t like us in a professional context if we’re too good-looking. Some people will assume we’re better at our job if we present in a conventionally attractive way; others will be mean and distrustful if they perceive us as too beautiful. One option is gross, the other is upsetting. Either way, women lose out.

But fortunately, there are also many people in the world who really don’t care what a person looks like in the workplace, so long as their teeth are brushed and their clothes are professional. And ultimately, trying to make yourself more or less beautiful to suit other people’s ill-conceived prejudices – or assuage their insecurities – is a losing battle.

So present yourself in whatever way suits your office dress code while still making you feel comfortable and confident, whether that means donning a power suit, wearing your natural hair or going make-up free. Because you can’t always control what other people think of you – but you can shape how good you feel about yourself.

Images: Doctor Macro/Getty Images / Lead image design: Alessia Armenise

The disturbing reason people don’t trust attractive women in the workplace