Return to Resource Navigator > Workplace News Briefs Weight Bias in the Workplace The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University released a new report detailing weight bias. Bias in employment settings has been identified in the following areas: hiring preferences, promotions, wage inequities, and employment termination.
Hiring Preferences -- obese job applicants [were] rated as having poor self-discipline, low supervisory potential, poor personal hygiene, less ambition & productivity. Thin applicants preferred over obese applicants, while obese applicants are more appropriate for jobs requiring little face-to-face contact. Promotions -- Lower promotion prospects compared to non-overweight counterparts. Managers less likely to recommend obese employee for promotion than other candidates. Also less likely to be hired in high-level positions. Wage Inequities -- Obese women earn 12 % less than non-obese females. Obese women more likely to be in low-paying jobs than thinner women. Obese men under-represented and paid less than non-obese men in managerial and professional positions. Employment Termination -- Fired due to prejudiced employers and arbitrary weight standards. Fired despite good to excellent employment records in occupations like: teachers, pilots, office managers, state troopers, city laborers Rudd Report (2008). |
