In a week in which Josef Ackermann made inopportune comments about the aesthetic advantages of having women on the DB executive board, the activities of Judy Joo, a former Morgan Stanley saleswoman, could be taken as suggesting that aesthetics can, indeed, help.
Ms Joo, who once worked for Morgan Stanley in fixed income research and derivative sales, has joined the new London Playboy Club as head of the restaurant.
Joo will be devising menus rather than dressing in a bunny outfit. However, she is herself indubitably attractive. She also insists that successful bunnies need to be more than "a pretty face with a rocking body."
The ideal bunny, says Joo, is well-rounded and smart. Advertisem*nts for bunny vacancies specify that: "Bunny Dealers need mental-arithmetic abilities comparable to a city broker."
Does the same apply? Can successful female saleswomen in investment banks benefit from the physical attributes of a bunny?
Yes, according to the (male) head of institutional sales at one London brokerage.
"Being an attractive woman is a huge help when your client base is male, which it usually is," he tells us. "A lot of successful saleswomen are unusually attractive for this reason. If you manage it in the right way and you have half a brain your appearance really can give you a huge advantage."
Female saleswomen strenuously deny this to be the case.
"It's not something I've ever heard. It's not something I've ever considered. It's not something I've ever even given any thought to," says one.
"Appearance matters," says another. "But it's not about being the most beautiful woman in the world. It's about being well put together with good hair, tidy nails and nice clothes. Women in all areas of banking take care of themselves."
Whether appearance helps or not, the male sales head says that women who rely on it to get ahead will only get so far. "There comes a point when you are seen as a divisive character. If you're good at sales because you've been using your appearance to play a psychological game with your clients you will hit a glass ceiling," he cautions sternly.
