NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- A study presented today at the
American Academy of Ophthalmology's Annual Meeting found women with
strabismus, a condition in which one eye either turns in toward the nose or
out toward the temple, were the least likely to be hired for a management
position.
Authors David K. Coats, M.D., Evelyn A. Paysse, M.D., Annette J. Towler,
MA, and Robert L. Dipboye, Ph.D. digitally manipulated the photos of two men
and two women to create the effect of strabismus, then randomly assigned them
to mock job resumes. The resumes were for a job as a marketing manager. The
resumes and photos of seven applicants were given to participants who were
asked to rank them in order of hiring preference.
Authors found male applicants with normal eyes ranked an average of 5.09,
while men with strabismic eyes ranked 5.77 (when eye was turned in) and
4.90 (when eye was turned out). However, women with strabismus ranked 3.50 and
3.64 respectively, while women with normal eyes ranked 5.70.
Based on the study's findings that strabismus negatively affects a woman's
ability to secure a management position, the authors suggest strabismus should
be considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, rather
than a cosmetic problem.
The mission of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the largest medical
association of ophthalmologists, the Eye M.D.s, is to achieve accessible,
appropriate, and affordable eye care for the public by serving the educational
and professional needs of the ophthalmologist. Visit the Academy's web site at
http://www.eyenet.org.
SOURCE American Academy of Ophthalmology
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Related links:
http://www.eyenet.org
CONTACT:
broadcast, Kimberly Bowes Westhoff, or
newspapers, Michelle Stephens, or magazines, Arthur Stone,
504-670-6366, or media@aao.com, all of American Academy of
Opthalmology
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