I read an article by Fester Whipple, from October 1, 2010 that was posted on Shine from Yahoo and I wanted to share some of its finer points with you. The title of it is 3 Strikes Against Curvy Women.
The title is what got my attention, well ok, it really made me angry! There should be NO strikes against curvy women. BUT, to his credit everything he said had a point and really got me thinking.
His First Point: Smaller paychecks
We get smaller paychecks than our thinner counterparts; 6% less actually. Rebecca Puhl, PhD, director of research at the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University said; “That wage penalty has been consistently documented,” she says. “It’s pretty bad.” What’s new is that males don’t take nearly the hit.
This I have firsthand knowledge of. While I am usually well paid, I am not as well paid as my thinner counter parts. The other issue that we have is that due to the discrimination that we face in getting promotions, raises and hired in the first place, we fall into another category. This would be the depressed and anxious category. The cycle is never ender and while society as a whole is growing in size, and I mean pant size not head count, we are facing more discrimination and exclusion than ever before.
The Second Point: If you get fired, you’re on your own.
There are no “weight discrimination” laws written in any state but Michigan. So, the rest of the nation can say if the uniform doesn’t fit, you get to quit. That is a bunch of BULL. I can’t be fired for being a woman, gay, American Indian, pagan or disabled. BUT, I can be let go because I am over a weight limit or uniform size that does not fit the image of some company. I am pretty sure that we have deemed obesity a disease and that some people with eating disorders have illnesses no different than alcoholics or addicts. So, why are we even having this discussion? Because some people in our society see overweight people as just lazy and not in control of themselves, never mind the illnesses, obsessions, depressions, family history and diseases that may have led us here. It could be more eye-opening if people had to walk a mile.
The Third Point: The Corporate ladder does not have a wrung for us. At least, not by the top
In corporate America, the top is filled with men, not a bad thing, IF they are qualified to be there. I totally agree that if you are qualified for the position and can do it correctly then you should have it. But equal pay for equal work needs to take place. As we know that is not the fact and will not be any time soon. We have seen that by sending our jobs overseas. It’s just a matter of the BBD theory. Everyone is looking for the “Bigger Better Deal”. With all of that being said, it is not hard to imagine that women only make up for 40% of the managerial staffing; and they only make $.79 for every $1.00 made by men. Factor in the weight issue and we all know where that gets us. Stuck right in the middle.
