Investors prefer entrepreneurial ventures pitched by attractive men.

Photo: Flickr/Engin ErdoganAs much as we would like to pretend we are a noble species, it seems that nearly every week another study is published that proves that we are sad, shallow beings. Take this one, for example. Here, scientists used recorded investment pitches to track which traits investors value most in entrepreneurs. Despite saying that they value experience the most, when tracked over many presentations, the single trait investors actually favored was the sex of the presenter. They like propositions pitched by men. Attractive men. Which, even if not surprising, is depressing. Thanks, science :(Investors prefer entrepreneurial ventures pitched by attractive men. "Entrepreneurship is a central path to job creation, economic growth, and prosperity. In the earliest stages of start-up business creation, the matching of entrepreneurial ventures to investors is critically important. The entrepreneur's business proposition and previous experience are regarded as the main criteria for investment decisions. Our research, however, documents other critical criteria that investors use to make these decisions: the gender and physical attractiveness of the entrepreneurs themselves. Across a field setting (three entrepreneurial pitch competitions in the United States) and two experiments, we identify a profound and consistent gender gap in entrepreneur persuasiveness. Investors prefer pitches presented by male entrepreneurs compared with pitches made by female entrepreneurs, even when the content of the pitch is the same. This effect is moderated by male physical attractiveness: attractive males were particularly persuasive, whereas physical attractiveness did not matter among female entrepreneurs." Related content: NCBI ROFL: The Mere Anticipation of an Interaction with a Woman Can Impair Men's Cognitive Performance. NCBI ROFL: Republican women look more feminine than Democrats. NCBI ROFL: She might not be having what you think she's having…