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Fat people are discriminated against 32 times more often than thin colleagues, and 19% of employers still prefer thin employees. We understand what fatphobia is, how it manifests itself and why you should get rid of it
Fatphobia is an irrational fear, disgust or discrimination shown towards overweight people. And although any discrimination is prohibited by law, employers still pay attention to the weight of employees. So, according to the Superjob website, in 2019, a fifth (19%) of Russian companies – and 500 of them took part in the survey – would be more willing to take a person without excess weight. In addition, obese people are less likely to occupy high positions, receive lower wages, all other things being equal, and, in general, are much more likely to be discriminated against.
How fatphobia manifests itself in the work environment
When applying for a job
Discrimination can begin even at the stage of reviewing a resume. According to a study by Linnaeus University, obese people are invited to an interview half as often as people with normal weight: 11% versus 26% among men and 13% versus 30% among women.
Anastasia Lobchenko, HR specialist OBLAKO Group:
“Requests for employees with certain parameters are not uncommon among employers. They almost always concern women, and most often those who are looking for a job as an administrator, secretary, personal assistant or office manager. There are cases when vacancies directly indicate the need for a photo in the resume, and some employers even refuse to consider a resume without a photo.
Some manifestations of fatphobia are barely noticeable: quite often overweight people face another form of discrimination – interpersonal. As part of an experiment conducted by the American Psychological Association, several volunteers tried to get jobs in retail stores. In half of them (54%), study participants came in special suits that increased their clothing size from S to XXL. In addition to the subjects themselves, third-party observers were present in the stores under the guise of buyers.
It turned out that the subjects were more likely to experience interpersonal discrimination while wearing costumes. Store employees smiled and nodded at them 1,5 times less often, the dialogues between them and applicants were shorter, and the distance during communication was longer.
During training
A biased attitude towards overweight people occurs not only at the interview stage, but also during the work itself, and is especially pronounced during training and evaluation of results. Mentors who know in advance that they will train an overweight person have low expectations about his success, and after training evaluate the results worse. Researchers at Bowling Green State University (USA) attribute this to stereotypes that have taken root in society, according to which obesity is often associated with laziness, low motivation, and lack of self-discipline.
Most often, people associate overweight with unattractiveness (44%), laziness (23%), lack of willpower (16%), constant overeating (14%), unreasonableness (1%) and poor hygiene (1%).
When paying wages
Overweight employees earn less and are more likely to be discriminated against at work. Other things being equal, men with normal weight earn 5% more than overweight men, and women – 12%.
In addition, there is a direct correlation between weight and income level. According to a study by the University of Florida in 2010, women who are 10 kg underweight earn the most, earning an average of $3 more per year than their normal-weight counterparts. Conversely, if a woman weighs 981 kg more than average, her annual salary is $10 less. For men, the picture is somewhat different: not only being overweight but also being extremely thin is contributing to the drop in income, with very thin men earning nearly $1 less than their overweight counterparts. As they gain weight, so does their salary, but at the stage of obesity, it starts to decline again.
Severely obese people experience discrimination 32 times more often than their normal weight counterparts: 22,4% versus 0,7%. At the same time, men are discriminated against much less than women: 12,1% versus 27,7%. Also, overweight women are more likely to engage in low-paid physical labor and are less likely to occupy positions that involve interaction with people.
To whom and how does fatphobia harm?
Employees
According to the World Health Organization, 54% of overweight adults are stigmatized by colleagues and superiors.
Victoria Skibina, psychologist, psychotherapist:
“Stigma can manifest itself through snarky jokes or unsolicited weight loss advice. Less obviously – through pseudo health care (in the form of the same advice) and focusing on the figure.
Contrary to popular belief, stigma does not help overweight people lose weight or accept themselves, but only worsens mental and physical health. Victoria notes: “The detrimental effects of fatphobia, such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, negatively affect employee productivity and reduce employee motivation.”
A University of California study found that people who were discriminated against because of their weight had a 60% increased risk of death, regardless of body mass index. This relationship is explained by direct and indirect effects of chronic social stress.
Employer
The employing company itself can also suffer from prejudice. So, in 2018, due to a high-profile scandal, the image of the Victoria’s Secret brand fell sharply. The company was accused of unrealistic representation of women, as well as fatphobia and transphobia. As a result, sales to L Brands, which owns Victoria’s Secret, have fallen by 41%, and the brand itself is still losing to more progressive competitors.
The results of a 2015 McKinsey study also speak in favor of diversity. During it, they analyzed the profits and composition of the management of 366 large companies in Canada, the USA, Latin America and the UK. As a result, it was found that companies with a more diverse management composition increased the chances of making high profits by 35%.
Everything gets better
Let’s return to the Superjob study: in 2019, employers began to be more loyal to the appearance of employees compared to 2012. Previously, 37% of employers, that is, almost twice as many, would prefer an employee without excess weight.
The pandemic has also played its part. Now that every tenth employee is working remotely, appearances have become less critical.
Anastasia Lobchenko, HR specialist OBLAKO Group:
“The trend from year to year is positive, especially now, when digital technologies are used in every company and remote work is practiced almost everywhere in one form or another. Stereotypes fade into the background, and it is no longer so important who sits on the other side of the monitor. It is important how quickly and efficiently he does his job. This is especially true for IT companies.”
The attitude of society is also changing: stigmatizing advertising is criticized, the plus size clothing market is growing, more and more companies are launching plus-size lines. Despite this, a VTsIOM survey conducted in July 2021 showed that 59% of our country had never heard of body positivity. However, after explaining the term, 61% of respondents agree that body positivity relieves people of complexes about appearance.