Mind-Set: Only the Svelte Need Apply

(Excerpted from the NY Times, Wednesday March 22, 2000)

…

Hundreds of thousands of Americans lose their jobs every year.,. but with unemployment at its lowest level since 1970, most bounce back quickly. For obese people like Ms. Collins, though, finding a new job is not so easy, no matter what their qualifications. They live in fear of rejection for their physical appearance, and they are generally less experienced in job hunting than their slimmer colleagues because they are less likely to test the market while they are employed.

Over the last 26 years, Ms. Collins who is 5’6" has held four jobs. "once I get a job, I keep it," she said.

…Local recruiters who spot her resume online are enthusiastic about her prospects until they meet her, she says. "You can see this wall come down," she said. "Their eyes get cold. They get formal and polite.,. ask general questions, then I’m out the door."

…Recruiters…acknowledge privately that an applicant’s weight does matter. "Appearance is always a consideration, particularly at higher levels." A manager of a national recruiting firm said. "Executives are always in front of big groups."

…

But management’s attitude is sometimes based on the considerable risks associated with obesity. Obesity is second to cigarette smoking as the leading preventable cause of death. And it contributes to and it contributes to an estimated 280,000 deaths a year, according to government statistics. Every week millions of workdays are lost to illnesses that result from obesity; the cost to employers in lost productivity and absenteeism is more than $47 billion a year, one study says.

Costs are only one part of the reason…"People are reacting negatively on many other levels," he said. One is just the gut reaction."

Employers are more likely to discriminate against people because of their weight than because of their sex or race,… and they do so at every step, from hiring to setting compensation to firing, …state and federal laws …provide little protection against weight discrimination….Michigan is the lone state where weight is a protected characteristic.

…

Perhaps the most dreadful ordeal for an overweight applicant is the personal interview. One overweight executive, who stands 5’10" 350 pounds, recalled the humiliation he endured a few years ago as his chat with a potential employer in New York was wrapping up.

"The only chair that was available for me to sit in was an old chair with arms that would have been fine for someone with a waist size of up to maybe 44." …but mine was about 52. I felt wedged in. It made me very self-conscious. As the interview finished, I stood up and took the chair with me. I just wanted to get the hell out of at that point."

The remainder of the article goes on to describe how Ms. Collins went on to hopefully apply for a job she did not get.            March 24, 2000

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