Obesity and Workplace Discrimination: The Unseen Effects
Obese people are subject to discrimination in many facets of their lives, and the workplace is no exception. Numerous studies have shown that workers with a body-mass index (BMI) of 30 or more earn significantly less than their non-obese counterparts. In America, some state and local governments are considering laws to counter this discrimination. On November 22nd, New York City put in place one such ban.
However, the costs of weight-based discrimination may be even higher than previously assumed. According to a recent report by the Institute for Employment Studies, it seems that only women living with obesity experience a wage penalty. Our own analysis of data from the American Time Use Survey, which includes information on 23,000 workers, suggests otherwise. The evidence indicates that both men and women experience a decrease in earnings due to obesity.
The data we examined cover men and women between the ages of 25 and 54 who are in full-time employment. While men’s BMIs are typically unrelated to their wages at an aggregate level, the situation changes for men with university degrees. For them, obesity is linked to a wage penalty of nearly 8%, even after factors such as age, race, graduate education and marital status are accounted for. Our analysis using a different dataset that includes nearly 90,000 individuals from the Department of Health and Human Services produced similar results.
In particular, well-educated workers appear to be penalized for their weight, regardless of sex. The penalty is greater for those with higher levels of education. We observed that obese men with a bachelor’s degree earn 5% less than their non-obese colleagues, while those with a graduate degree earn 14% less. For obese women, the earnings disparity is even more pronounced, with those holding a bachelor’s degree earning 12% less and those with a graduate degree earning 19% less than their non-obese counterparts.
The type of work you engage in also plays a role in this disparity. Our analysis of individual occupations and industries indicates the most significant disparities exist in high-skilled jobs. Obese workers in the health care industry and those in management roles earn less on average than non-obese colleagues. Conversely, workers in industries such as construction and agriculture see higher wages associated with obesity.
The overall costs of wage discrimination for overweight workers in America are substantial. A rough calculation shows that the total cost could be as high as $70 billion per year when accounting for both men and the more educated group who also tend to earn more.
In response, several cities and states are considering, or have already implemented, laws prohibiting weight-based discrimination. However, our analysis of workers in Michigan, where such a ban has been in place for nearly 50 years, indicates that outlawing prejudice is one thing, and eradicating it from society is quite another.
The issue of obesity and workplace discrimination is one that requires attention and consideration. Recognizing the challenges that obese workers face in the workplace and working towards solutions is paramount in creating an equitable and fair working environment for all.
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