Eileen Carey says changing her hair colour and ditching heels has been key to her success
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The brains behind a successful start-up has revealed she dyed her blonde hair brown and stopped wearing heels in order to be taken seriously by men.
Eileen Carey, founder and CEO of diversity and inclusion enterprise software company Glassbreakers, says changing her look to a more conservative one has helped her get ahead in business.
She said she started dying her hair on advice from a woman in the venture capital sector, who said investors would feel more comfortable doing business with a brunette than a blonde.
"Being a brunette helps me to look a bit older and I needed that, I felt, in order to be taken seriously," she told the BBC.
Carey added that she had met other blondes who had dyed their hair brown to advance their careers.
She had also switched her contact lenses for glasses, ditched her high heels and started dressing more androgynously.
"People are more likely to hit on me in a bar if I'm blonde … For me to be successful in this [tech industry] space, I'd like to draw as little attention as possible, especially in any sort of sexual way."
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Eileen Carey, founder and CEO of diversity and inclusion enterprise software company Glassbreakers, says changing her look to a more conservative one has helped her get ahead in business.
She said she started dying her hair on advice from a woman in the venture capital sector, who said investors would feel more comfortable doing business with a brunette than a blonde.
"Being a brunette helps me to look a bit older and I needed that, I felt, in order to be taken seriously," she told the BBC.
Californian CEO Eileen Carey has dyed her blonde hair brown in an attempt to be taken more seriously as a businesswoman. What do you think? pic.twitter.com/lUufwXZOFN
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) September 11, 2017
Carey added that she had met other blondes who had dyed their hair brown to advance their careers.
She had also switched her contact lenses for glasses, ditched her high heels and started dressing more androgynously.
"People are more likely to hit on me in a bar if I'm blonde … For me to be successful in this [tech industry] space, I'd like to draw as little attention as possible, especially in any sort of sexual way."
Want the latest HR news direct to your inbox? Sign up for HRD Canada's daily newsletter.
Related stories:
Blonde HR professionals: The chosen ones?
How to deliver feedback on an employee’s appearance