Research by sociologist Martyna Krogulec-Łęska of the University of Humanities and Economics (AHE) in the central city of Łódź suggests that body weight can strongly influence recruitment decisions, even when candidates have identical qualifications and experience.
In an experiment involving applicants for management positions, 82.1 percent of respondents selected a slimmer woman over a woman with excess weight. A similar 80.6 percent chose the slimmer male candidate.
The bias also appeared in professions requiring advanced specialist knowledge. When respondents assessed otherwise identical doctors, 83.5 percent preferred the slimmer physician.
"Appearance still influences first impressions and the way candidates are assessed," Krogulec-Łęska said. "Our body is one of the first messages received by others, so it can consciously or unconsciously affect recruitment and career decisions."
'Weightism' at work
The reasarcher studies weight-based discrimination, increasingly known as weightism, in the workplace.
She said human resources professionals were aware of the phenomenon and often admitted favoring candidates who more closely matched socially preferred standards of appearance when qualifications were comparable.
This means body weight may influence a decision before an employer has properly assessed a candidate’s skills, she added.
Krogulec-Łęska attributed the bias partly to two psychological mechanisms. The halo effect encourages people to associate an attractive appearance with intelligence, competence and positive character traits. The Golem effect works in the opposite direction, leading recruiters to assume that a heavier applicant is less motivated, organized or capable.
"For several decades, a slim body has remained the dominant ideal of beauty," she said. "It is strongly associated with self-control, discipline and responsibility for one's body."
As a result, people with excess weight may be unfairly viewed as lazy, neglectful or unable to manage their lives, she added.
International findings point to similar discrimination. In a recruitment experiment in Mexico, women with obesity received responses to 21.3 percent of their applications, compared with 29.1 percent for women considered to be of a healthy weight.
A heavier candidate therefore had to submit 37 percent more applications to receive the same number of interview invitations.
Krogulec-Łęska also cited research by University of Connecticut psychologist Rebecca Puhl indicating that weight discrimination may occur as frequently as racial discrimination in interpersonal relations, and sometimes more often than discrimination based on sex or age.
The issue affects a large share of Polish society. Statistics Poland says 57.1 percent of adults in the country have excess weight, including 65.7 percent of men and 48.3 percent of women.
Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Eurostat also show a link between obesity, education and income. Across Europe, the obesity rate among women with only primary education is 32 percentage points higher than among women with university degrees.
In Poland, pollster CBOS found that 62 percent of people with vocational education reported being overweight or obese, compared with 42 percent of university graduates. Excess weight was also more common in rural areas than in major cities.
Krogulec-Łęska said slimness was increasingly becoming a marker of social status because it could reflect access to education, money, time and opportunities to care for one's health.
She said knowledge, experience and skills should determine hiring and promotion decisions, but appearance evidently continues to shape professional opportunities.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP