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People should be judged based on their qualities, not their appearance. Yet, this often isn’t the case for women. Ginni Rometty, the first female CEO of IBM, admitted that her weight affected her career. And she’s not alone. Numerous studies reveal that women with fuller bodies face disadvantages in the workplace. Even women over 50 with a “plus size” earn less than peers with a “normal” weight. Furthermore, the wage gap only widens with age, while overweight white men tend to earn more.
Women with fuller bodies face workplace discrimination
This doesn’t surprise me. From an early age, we learn that slim bodies are beautiful and positive, while fuller bodies are labeled as ugly and negative. Thus, “chubby” kids in schools are more frequently bullied for their body shape, and media portray thin bodies as aspirational.
Unfortunately, this bias doesn’t disappear as we grow older. When I studied fashion and had to strictly diet to fit into sizes 38 or 40, I heard comments about weight every day. I was one of the curvier women in the class, and no one wanted me as a fit model because of it. As a result, I navigated my studies rather independently. Being a fit model helps build connections and form bonds with classmates, after all. During my exams, I was finally able to model for a school friend and showcase clothing on the runway. However, a girl in another class was denied the same opportunity because the school administration found her “too big.” New students, who often attend the final shows of graduates, would supposedly get a “wrong impression” of the school.
In my public administration studies, I was told that a slim figure would be more favorable if I wanted a career in government. Yet when my husband gained a bit of weight, people said he was “well taken care of.” For him, it was seen as a sign of prosperity; for me, a sort of failure.
A plus size Means a lower salary
As discriminatory as it sounds, research shows that my fuller body indeed isn’t beneficial for a career. White women with overweight earn on average 4.5 percent less than their white female colleagues with a “normal body.” For clarity, in this research, bodies with a BMI between 20 and 25 are considered normal. For women with obesity, the income gap reaches 11.9 percent.
Voluminous African-American and Latino women earn between 6 and 8 percent less. A noteworthy detail: weight does not impact the salary of Spanish women. Generally, white women with a BMI of 22.5 and Black women with a BMI of 26.1 earn the most.
50+ Women with a fuller figure earn less than their peers
One might think that physical appearance would become less important as a career progresses, given increased knowledge and experience. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. According to a report from the National Institutes of Health, income differences for women with fuller figures grow significantly from around age 50. Women between the ages of 51 and 61 earn 40% less than their peers with a “normal” weight.
Another study, cited in the same report, shows an even larger gap. According to this study, women with fuller figures between ages 57 and 67 earn about 60%(!) less than colleagues with a “normal” weight. For men, this discrepancy doesn’t appear; instead, overweight men even tend to earn 5% more on average.
Ginni Rometty experienced this firsthand. Thirty years ago, while working at IBM, her manager, Pat O’Brien, urged her to lose weight. Rometty recounts in her book Good Power how challenging this was for her.
As a young girl, she was already chubby, but only later in her career did her weight become a barrier. Although she even gained weight after the conversation with O’Brien, she eventually became the first female CEO of one of the world’s largest IT companies. However, this doesn’t mean that discrimination based on weight is no longer an issue. Rometty acknowledges that women are judged more harshly on appearance throughout their careers than men and regrets that this hasn’t lessened over the years.
The stigma around people with a larger body
Then, the question remains: why do women with fuller figures earn less? Studies show that overweight individuals are judged differently. Often, consciously or unconsciously, people assume that those with a higher BMI are unhealthy and lazy.
However, other studies indicate that weight, as calculated by BMI, doesn’t reflect health as reliably as long believed. On May 5th, the Harvard Medical School published an article on the limitations of the BMI system. The BMI number only tells about fat percentage, not accounting for illnesses, genetic predisposition, or athletic performance. For athletes, for example, fat is distributed differently than for people who exercise less.
Moreover, the BMI system was initially developed for white individuals. According to Dr. Robert H. Shmerling of Harvard Health Publishing, the system may not fit other races or ethnic groups well. The system tends to overestimate obesity in Black individuals and underestimate it in Asian individuals.
Aware of biases
Let’s not downplay it: being overweight can harm your health, and people with fuller bodies can be lazy, too. But so can slim people. You can’t see from the outside how healthy or energetic someone truly is. So let’s become aware of the biases we hold against people with a larger body. Or, no… not you. The biases others hold. 😉
Best regards,
Aileen