Scandinavian women rejoice: Blondes are not dumber

Stereotype is wrong and potentially harmful, study says

The well-known and often joked about “dumb blonde” stereotype is wrong, according to a new study done in the US and reported by videnskab.dk.

The study of nearly 11,000 women found that caucasian women who said that their natural hair colour was blonde an average IQ score within three points of brunettes and those with red or black hair.

‘Dumb blonde’ jokes may seem harmless, but Jay Zagorsky, author of the study and research scientist at Ohio State University said that they can have real-world implications.

Did you hear the one about – the smart blonde?
“Research shows that stereotypes often have an impact on hiring, promotions and other social experiences,” Zagorsky said in the study.

Zagorsky said that the study was “compelling evidence” that blondes should not be discriminated against based on intelligence.

The study found that the average IQ of blondes was actually slightly higher than those with other hair colours – blonde-haired women had an average IQ of 103.2, compared to 102.7 for those with brown hair, 101.2 for those with red hair and 100.5 for those with black hair – but Zagorsky said that finding was not “statistically significant”.

READ MORE: Blonde bombshell! Scandinavia’s global penetration is deep

The results for blond men were similar.

TOP STORIES

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs