CEO dyes her hair brown “to be taken seriously”

Eileen Carey says changing her hair colour and ditching heels has been key to her success

CEO dyes her hair brown “to be taken seriously”
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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