No luck on the job front? Experts say your weight could be to blame
Searching for a job is a job in itself.
From endlessly tweaking your CV and customising your cover letter to submitting applications which you hope will accurately highlight your skillset, getting a foot on the career ladder is no mean feat.
But once you get past the first round and actually secure an interview, you should be fairly confident that your previous work experience and obvious enthusiasm for the job will speak for itself, right?
Don’t be so sure.
According to a recent study by researchers in the UK and Canada, your appearance – and more specifically, your weight – actually plays as big a part in your chances of securing the job as anything included in your CV.
Researchers established that women who were on the heavier end of the ‘healthy’ BMI index were subject to more weight-based prejudice than male counterparts who would come under the ‘overweight’ category.
After manipulating images of women so their faces crossed various BMI levels, participants were asked how likely they would be to hire each one.
And it turns out thinner female faces were considered better qualified for the job… go figure, right?
The same prejudice was unsurprisingly not levelled at overweight men or those with fuller faces.
Commenting on the results of the study, lead author Dennis Nickson said the outcomes was “deeply unsettling from the viewpoint of gender inequality in the workplace”.
Yeah, we’re with him on that one.
