Beauty as Capital: Saleswomen’s Experiences in Pakistan’s Multinational Retail Sector

Abstract

Beauty functions as a commodified form of social, cultural, and economic capital in global corporate culture, shaping perceptions of professionalism and career advancement. This qualitative study explores how salespeople in multinational corporations navigate the intersection of appearance, workplace success, and cultural expectations. Based on semi-structured interviews with 18 participants from beauty-focused industries in Centaurus Mall and Safa Gold Mall, complemented by ethnographic observations, the research employs purposive sampling to ensure diverse representation in terms of professional and demographic characteristics. Thematic analysis shows beauty as "aesthetic capital" that can both enable and constrain: aligning with corporate ideals may foster client trust, sales, and promotion, while also generating stress, self objectification, and reduced autonomy. Multinational firms maintain beauty standards that blend cultural specificity with global influences, embedding gendered power dynamics in professional interactions. This first study of beauty capital in Pakistan's multinational retail sector integrates Bourdieu's cultural capital framework with feminist perspectives on self-surveillance and objectification, revealing how aesthetic labour is negotiated between empowerment and exploitation. The findings advance gender and work scholarship by showing how global beauty norms intersect with local cultural values to shape career paths and workplace identities in transnational corporate contexts.