New research has shown that overweight women could have a hard time securing employment based on one key element. It isn’t their qualifications, their training or even their experience that could be holding them back: it’s their weight.
The same study also found that even after these women are hired, they are at risk of being paid less than co-workers who are smaller in size.
That’s the word from a combined study conducted by scientists at both The University of Manchester and Monash University.
Scientists had group participants pose as hiring employers. They gave the individuals a collection of various headshots and resumes of individual who were seeking a job. The participants were then asked to rate all of the individuals based on their employment potential, what their starting salary should be and their potential for advancement.
But unbeknownst to the hiring employers, scientists added a twist. Embedded in the photos were some of the same candidates before and after they had undergone weight loss surgery.
According to the results, obese applicants were subjected to a wide range of different areas of discrimination including hiring potential, starting salary, and opportunities of advancement.
For those who wish to read more concerning the outcome, results of the study were published in the International Journal of Obesity.
