Survey finds workers experience weight, height discrimination

Six in 10 overweight American workers have experienced weight discrimination, according to a recent survey by ResumeBuilder.com.

The company surveyed 1,000 workers to find out if they have experienced discrimination in the workplace based on their height, weight or level of attractiveness. About 36% of working Americans have experienced one of these forms of discrimination, according to the survey.

“It’s a very small part of the population that doesn't feel some sort of being behind the eight ball in the process for whatever reason,” said Stacie Haller, the chief career adviser at Resume Builder who helped facilitate the survey. She has been a job search coach and recruiter in the past.

She said the responses from males shocked her most.

“Those who identified themselves as being overweight or obese thought that that impacted their career at a much higher percentage than women who felt that way,” she said.

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“What I take away from this is we need to address all bias going on in the workplace,” Haller said. “Maybe we need to do a survey to talk to hiring managers and see if this affects them in the hiring process.”

New York City, for example, is considering a proposed bill that would make it illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of weight.

The careers and mental health of employees were impacted as a result of discrimination, according to the survey.

“Everybody needs to be aware that these things do enter the process, and how do we go about mitigating that as much as we can and make an equitable workforce where people are feeling welcome,” Haller said.

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