the ledger: the diouana woman podcast
the ledger: the diouana woman podcast
Podcast Description
sifting through the delicate threads of ambition, beauty, and power to uncover the hidden forces that shape women’s lives. inspired by diouana gomis, the young woman at the heart of la noire de…, these conversations honor the freedom, complexity, and sensuality in every woman’s journey. with a west african sensibility, we dive into the socioeconomic, the interpersonal, and the quiet interiority that move us to build lives of meaning and agency. www.diouanawoman.com
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores themes surrounding women's ambition, beauty, and power with a focus on the socio-economic factors affecting their lives. Episodes examine topics like erotic capital, the dynamics of beauty, and the challenges women face in modern society, with discussions such as the implications of the male sex deficit and the impact of societal expectations on women's self-perception.
Sifting through the delicate threads of ambition, beauty, and power to uncover the hidden forces that shape women’s lives. Inspired by Diouana Gomis, the young woman at the heart of La Noire de…, these conversations honor the freedom, complexity, and sensuality in every woman’s journey. With a West African sensibility, we dive into the socioeconomic, the interpersonal, and the quiet interiority that move us to build lives of meaning and agency.
Can being too attractive hurt your career?
In this episode of The Ledger, Diouana Woman talks with Dr. Leah Sheppard about The Femme Fatale Effect — the surprising way beauty bias shapes women’s workplace experiences.
They unpack why attractive women are often seen as less truthful, how sexual insecurity drives these perceptions, and what Gen Z’s “office siren” trend reveals about modern professional life. Plus: surprising new research that flips the script on the so‑called motherhood penalty.
Listen for fresh insights into gender, power, beauty, and the quiet biases shaping women’s lives at work.
Episode Chapters & Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction: Welcome to The Ledger and today’s topic: the “bias against beauty.”
00:41 – Meet Dr. Leah Sheppard: Background on Dr. Sheppard’s research on gender, attractiveness, and workplace bias.
03:17 – The Dark Side of Beauty: How attractiveness can be an advantage generally, but a disadvantage for women in organizational contexts.
04:48 – What is the Femme Fatale Effect?: Defining the concept and its link to perceptions of femininity, manipulation, and danger.
10:49 – Trust, Femininity, and Gender Nuance: Why femininity isn’t inherently distrusted, but highly attractive women trigger unique suspicions.
14:17 – Sexual Insecurity Explained: How both men and women experience sexual insecurity when confronted with highly attractive women.
17:45 – Can the Femme Fatale Effect be Erased?: A priming experiment that shows when people feel secure in their relationships, bias diminishes.
22:44 – Truth, Trust, and Power: Why perceptions of truthfulness matter so much in organizations, leadership, and collaboration.
23:43 – Bias That HR Can’t Fix: Why managing attractiveness bias is nearly impossible at a systems level — and what individuals can do.
29:42 – The ‘Office Siren’ Trend: Gen Z’s flirtation with stylized corporate femininity and its workplace consequences.
31:20 – Real-World Case Study: Fired for Being Attractive: The Iowa Supreme Court case where a woman lost her job due to her boss’s wife’s insecurities.
35:17 – What’s Next for Beauty Bias Research: The role of race, intersectionality, and future areas of study.
39:00 – From Motherhood Penalty to Preference: Dr. Sheppard’s new research showing shifting perceptions of working mothers in leadership.
46:00 – Career vs. Family and Shifting Gender Roles: How partnership dynamics, ambition, and evolving expectations shape women’s choices.
54:01 – Power Couples, Lowered Standards, and Evolutionary Theory: Rethinking partnership and attraction in light of women outpacing men in education and career success.
59:01 – Takeaways: Beauty, Bias, and Perspective: Why attractiveness is still more of an asset than penalty overall, despite the nuances.
Disclaimer: the views expressed in this podcast are those of the author and do not reflect the views of any employer, past or current.
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