So, do you believe in evolution?

Just kidding. Don’t answer that.

But, hey, regardless of whether or not you back the theory, one of its principles has just been proven true: when it comes to processing information, images are more powerful than words.

Recently, researchers from Indiana University conducted a study in which 400 participants were randomly assigned to watch one of two newscasts about local stories. In one broadcast, the female anchor wore a tight jacket, a skirt and red lipstick; in the other, she wore a shapeless jacket, a loose-fitting skirt and no makeup.

The results? Men retained more information from the desexualized anchor than they did the hyper-sexualized anchor.

Clearly, networks like CNN and Fox News have hired bombshell anchors like Robin Meade and Megyn Kelly with the hopes of attracting greater numbers of male viewers. While these attempts may provide the desired results, they essentially undermine the entire point of news: to inform.

So who’s really losing out, men or women?

As women continue to outnumber men in college enrollment and the work force, men are left to adapt to the concept of beautiful and intelligent women.

Ever heard of the “attractiveness effect?” It suggests a connection between high GPAs and good looks. In other words, if men’s brains can’t retain the material a beautiful woman delivers to them (which happens more and more frequently in the office, thanks to the attractiveness effect), they’ll be putting themselves at quite a disadvantage.

But the outlook for women isn’t looking so hot, either.

Take Katie Couric, a perfect example of the double standard between men and women in broadcast journalism. Since she famously took over the Nightly News on CBS, she’s received massive amounts of flack for her hair, clothes and even her eyeliner. But even if Couric were a Victoria’s Secret angel, we’d still have a problem: Men wouldn’t be listening, and they should be.

As for the rest of the female population, we haven’t got it any easier. We’re told that we can be either one of two things: Pretty or smart. If, by some odd fate, we embody both traits, we’re met with another limitation: Men will never understand us. And why should we care? Because no matter how many of us attend college and build careers, we will still always be aiming to please male bosses, supervisors and CEOs, who largely outnumber us in those higher-up positions.

Well, here’s the good news for you, whether you’re an evolutionist, creationist or anything else that might fall in between: Progress is not out of the question.

We used to be a race of grunting cave-people, and now we complain of glass ceilings. A few generations before us, women weren’t allowed in board rooms, copy rooms or any room that didn’t have an oven. And now, there’s virtually no job that men and women can’t both do; we all work side-by-side, and that may very well be the best way to work.

It appears that our minds are lagging in terms of adapting to all this change. Nobody’s got to be drop-dead gorgeous to survive or to be valuable like we did centuries ago, but for some reason, we just can’t let go of the notion of beauty; we all want to possess it for as long as we can, and gaze at it as often as possible.

See? I said “we,” and I meant all of us – not just men, and not just women. We’ve all got some work to do, and we can do it together.