Women more likely than men to need intelligence and good looks to get ahead in Australia, study finds

Australians think women are more likely than men to need intelligence and good looks to get ahead, a study has found.

The market research company Ipsos and King's College London surveyed about 20,000 people in 28 countries about their perception of what was needed to succeed — whether it was intelligence, working hard, having good connections, or just being hot.

In Australia, 12 per cent said looks were a key factor in helping women get ahead, while only 5 per cent said the same for men.

Twenty-five per cent said intelligence was one of the most important factors helping women get ahead, compared with 15 per cent who said the same for men.

Ipsos Australia Director of Public Affairs Jessica Elgood told Hack the survey found a significant difference in the attributes women need to have to make progress.

"We also asked what were the most important factors in stopping women from achieving equality with men in each country," she said.

"In Australia, we have 16 per cent mentioning the lack of education for men and boys [in relation to gender equality], and then men also not necessarily helping women achieve equality.

"And maybe something there in the messages we're sending to our boys and younger men in terms of actually what their role is in gender equality."

How does Australia compare with other countries?

In Australia, Britain and the US, a similar proportion of people named looks as a key factor in women getting ahead, while in Brazil, India and Spain the public tended to think it was less important.

In Russia, by comparison, the public rated looks very highly.

Thirty-six per cent of people surveyed said it was a key factor in women's success, while only five per cent said the same for men.

Since this is based on a survey, the figure could be read two ways — either looks really are more important for women to succeed in Russia, or the Russians were just more clear-eyed about what's important than Australians were.

"I don't think the Russians are necessarily more clear-eyed there. I think there are some genuine differences, I'm happy to say," Jess said.

"There are some stereotypes that come through in the data. Places like Germany really focused on your qualifications, which maybe isn't surprising.

"But it doesn't necessarily play out all the stereotypes. Latin American countries talk about the need to be qualified, which you wouldn't necessarily assume."

Australians generally blamed employers for not addressing the gender pay gap, or promoting women to senior positions.

What other factors were associated with getting ahead?

For both men and women in Australia, the factor most people associated with getting ahead was working hard, followed by confidence and being qualified.

Looks was eighth on the list for women, below 'never giving up' and 'is connected', and above 'having a good sense of humour'.

Here's the full list, compared to Britain and the US:

This is the first time Ipsos has run this survey, which means we can't compare it with previous studies and identify a trend — whether looks have become more or less important for helping women to succeed in Australia.

"I think we will update it in the future," Jess said.