Do skinny women earn more?
This morning I actually set out to write a blog post on how our new debt diet is making my husband and I a bit thinner (eating all that expensive takeout really packed on the pounds!). But then a friend of mine posted a link to this article on Facebook.
A new research paper published in the Journal of Applied Psychology finds that skinny women earn way more in the workplace their “average weight” counterparts. Women who are very thin earn nearly $22,000 more. Skinny figure = fatter paycheque.
Updated November 2, 2012
This morning I actually set out to write a blog post on how our new debt diet is making my husband and I a bit thinner (eating all that expensive takeout really packed on the pounds!). But then a friend of mine posted a link to this article on Facebook.
A new research paper published in the Journal of Applied Psychology finds that skinny women earn way more in the workplace their “average weight” counterparts. Women who are very thin earn nearly $22,000 more. Skinny figure = fatter paycheque.
It gets worse — the more a woman weighs, the less she earns. “Heavy” and “very heavy” women lost over $9,000 and $19,000 respectively compared to women who are of an average weight.
The study was conducted by Timothy A. Judge from the University of Florida and Daniel M. Cable, from the London Business School — the pair set out to explore the link between the relationship between income and weight in men and women. Bottom line: gaining weight cuts into your paycheque.
Women who are considered heavier also fare worse on the income front than men who weigh more.
Most of us are all too aware that we live in an age where mainstream media portrays a standard of female beauty based on being thin. But the fact that the standard still sets women back in the workplace is depressing. Women can ultimately choose not to buy fashion magazines featuring skinny models or to watch thin celebrities on TV — but when the same standard is set at the salary negotiating table, that’s just wrong.
Have you ever experienced or seen weight-based discrimination in the workplace? Share your stories below.
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