Not so cute: How a ‘babyface’ may be getting in the way of your promotion – Opinion

A software engineer shared on Reddit how facial features can impact careers. Despite nine years of experience, they were labelled “junior” due to their youthful appearance, while a less experienced colleague with mature features was promoted ahead of them.

Appearances seem to matter at the workplace and the bias against “babyfaces” seems to affect professionals of all genders. Some Reddit users reported being excluded from professional events or addressed as “kids” despite their qualifications.

These anecdotes demonstrate how “mature” faces can get conflated with competence and authority in workplace assessments.

A 2023 study by the Harvard Business School found compelling empirical evidence that facial features influence career advancement.

Analysing 12,000 faces through machine learning, the researchers developed a “charisma score” that measures celebrity visual potential based on 11 specific facial features.

Their research concluded that “babyfacedness” negatively impacts perceived charisma, while features like high cheekbones, large eyes and facial symmetry positively correlate with perceptions of competence and authority.

The researchers validated their model by comparing LinkedIn profiles of executives and average employees, finding significantly higher charisma scores among those in leadership positions.

This supported their hypothesis that facial maturity matters in professional advancement, as their analysis found that “babyfacedness” negatively impacted charisma scores — suggesting that looking young may stand in the way of being perceived as leadership material.

As one of the researchers, Assistant Professor Shunyuan Zhang, notes: “An evaluator may not even be aware of how much someone’s facial attributes are driving interpersonal judgments.” It highlights how unconscious these biases truly are, making them particularly difficult to address without specific intervention strategies.

For example, Singapore’s landmark Workplace Fairness Act, passed in January 2025, protects employees against bias based on age, nationality, race, and gender. But it does not explicitly include physical appearance as a protected characteristic, which may leave baby-faced professionals vulnerable to discrimination.

The “babyface” bias intersects significantly with another emerging workplace challenge – reverse ageism.

A 2017 American Psychological Association study found that younger employees experienced equal or higher levels of workplace discrimination than their older colleagues, while a 2019 NTUC Employment and Employability Institute survey showed Singaporean millennials fighting stereotypes about being “selfish” or “unable to take hardship”.

For baby-faced professionals in Singapore, the challenge is compounded – they are judged not only on their actual age but also on their perceived age.

Here’s looking at you, kid

The babyface bias also connects closely with another emerging area of workplace discrimination – what researchers now call “youngism”. A 2024 Wharton study led by Dr Stephane Francioli found that young adults face greater negative stereotyping than older individuals, with bias levels comparable with those against other discriminated groups.

For baby-faced professionals, this creates a perfect storm of prejudice. Not only are they stereotyped as incompetent due to facial features, but if they also happen to be truly young, they face additional discrimination from older generations who view today’s youth as entitled or unprepared. Even more troubling, baby-faced older workers may encounter a unique double-bind – their mature-aged competence undermined by youthful facial features.

This combination of age and appearance-based bias creates significant barriers to fair workplace evaluation, with Dr Francioli noting that older generations holding economic and political power may rationalise paying young people less based on negative stereotypes while overlooking “the real economic challenges they face”. An inclusive workplace requires addressing both dimensions – respecting professionals regardless of their age or facial features.

Asian faces are more prone to the “babyface” bias phenomenon because they share features with infant faces – including rounded shapes, epicanthal folds (eyelid feature common in Asians), low nasal bridges and recessed chins – leading observers to unconsciously associate them with youth, according to another piece of research from 2003 by plastic surgeons Yukio Shirakabe, Yoshiro Suzuki and Samuel Lam.

They are often perceived differently than their more mature-looking counterparts. While they may be associated with positive traits such as honesty, warmth, trustworthiness and likeability, they simultaneously face negative stereotypes suggesting submissiveness, weakness, immaturity, naivety and lower competence.

A BBC article by journalist Zaria Gorvett published in 2021 explored how looking younger than one’s age can significantly impact career trajectories. This perception tends to channel those with youthful faces into specific career paths – they are more likely to work in caring professions such as teaching and childcare, while mature-looking individuals are more often found in leadership positions.

Such unconscious bias could see baby-faced employees being passed over for leadership positions or assignments requiring assertiveness and dominance. They may struggle to command respect from peers or be taken seriously in high-stakes situations. This could stunt their opportunities for growth and subject them to potential pay disparities.

What can be done

If we are truly serious about fairness at the workplace, then we need to address bias based on looks.

First, policymakers should expand anti-discrimination laws to specifically include physical appearance as a protected characteristic. This would provide baby-faced employees with a stronger legal foundation to challenge discrimination and send a clear message that appearance-based bias is unacceptable in the workplace.

Employers should simultaneously implement comprehensive diversity and inclusion training programmes that raise awareness about unconscious biases, including those related to physical appearance. Such efforts can foster a more inclusive workplace culture that values diversity and assesses individuals based on their skills and contributions.

Companies should review their hiring, promotion and performance evaluation processes to ensure that no employee is disadvantaged based on their looks. This may involve using structured interviews and assessments to minimise the influence of unconscious biases.

Organisations should create a safe and supportive environment where employees can openly discuss their experiences with appearance-based discrimination.

But if you are a baby-faced individual, you also need to help yourself. This may involve developing a more assertive communication style, showcasing your accomplishments and expertise, and actively seeking out challenging projects and leadership opportunities.

As Singapore continues to prioritise diversity, inclusion and fairness in the workplace, the “babyface” phenomenon may seem like a minor issue compared with overt discrimination, but its cumulative impact can be significant over the course of a career.

To fully realise the spirit of the anti-discrimination legislation, we must confront the unconscious biases that persist in our workplaces. Only by recognising and addressing these biases will we value employees based on their abilities rather than their appearance.

Mr Ben Chester Cheong is a law lecturer and MOE-Start Overseas PhD scholar at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. He is a visiting fellow in law at the University of Reading, and a practising lawyer at RHTLaw Asia.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

ADV: INSEAD Leadership Programme Grab’s entry into taxi sector given green light on organic growth: CCCS, LTA