Women More Likely To Face Weight-Based Prejudice At Work Even If They’re Not Overweight, Study Finds
[Photo: Pexels]
Anyone who’s ever had a customer-facing job before knows that it is not a career for the weak - members of the public can be unreasonable, irritable and have downright unrealistic expectations, all while you’re running around to please them.
And as if that wasn’t bad enough for anyone, a study has now found that women have it that bit harder as they are more likely to experience weight-based prejudice in this type of work than their male colleagues.
Researchers from the University of Strathclyde asked 120 participants (60 of both genders) to rate eight (both male and female) candidates on their suitability for a customer-facing job or a non-client-facing role.
The participants were all told that these candidates were equally qualified, before being shown digitally-altered images of thinner or heavier faces.
Candidates were more negative towards heavier-looking women, and less convinced that they were suitable for either role than thinner-looking women.
[Photo: Pexels]
When considered for a client-facing role, heavier - but healthy - looking women scored even lower.
Their male counterparts’ weight, meanwhile, had little impact on their perceived competence.
And so, the researchers concluded that even subtle increases in BMI within a healthy weight range can reduce a woman’s chances of employment within the service sector.
“We found that the marginally ‘heavier’ female faces were rated lower on hireability than the original faces,” researcher Dr Nickson told the Metro.
“Thus, a subtle simulated increase in one’s BMI, even within the healthy range, is a very real stigma that negatively impacts on women’s life chances.”
Oh, great.
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