Skinny Women Make More Money, Report Finds

For women constantly battling to drop a few pounds, a new study could be hard to swallow.

From TIME:

According to a study in the Journal of Applied Psychology, women who are "very thin" earn nearly $22,000 more than their "average weight counterparts." The study was conducted by Timothy A. Judge from the University of Florida and Daniel M. Cable, from the London Business School, who examined the relationship between income and weight in men and women.

The study, which included 23,939 participants, also finds that, while women are financially punished for any weight gain, very thin women receive the most significant drop in pay for the first few pounds of weight they put on. For American women who were below average weight, gaining 25 pounds produced an average salary decrease of $15,500.

Once women reach an average weight, the report finds, further weight gain is penalized less, "presumably because the social preferences for a feminine body have already been violated."

Very thin men actually receive less than their average weight counterparts. They are rewarded for weight gain until they become obese, the study finds.

Comments

[Cranmer1549]

12:44 PM on 06/13/2011

Who funds studies like this? I want funding for my study "do churchgoers tend to be Christian?" or "do Trekkers attend Star Trek conventions?".

[nherent]

12:27 PM on 06/13/2011

Skinny women also have more shoe choices.

[TAIsabel]

11:37 AM on 06/13/2011

Just last weekend, I spent two days with a friend of my best friend who is very educated, highly intelligent but has been out of work for over two years, in spite of having had many interviews. When my best friend and I drove back home after her friend had left, I suggested to my best friend that she advise her friend to lose some weight before going on any more interviews.

Although she has many good qualifications and is still young, her appearance gives the impression of someone who is not very motivated. It is not only her weight, it is also the clothes she is forced to wear as a result of her weight.

I agree with many here, it is not the actual weight that is the problem, it is a matter of health and motivation that might influence employers.

[Benjamin Rosenfeld]

12:48 PM on 06/13/2011

Remember when Homer gained weight to go on disability? He wore a mumu.

[Benjamin Rosenfeld]

12:54 PM on 06/13/2011

There's also the health risk that has to be taken into account for, diabetes. Obese people are more inclined to get it, and then take more time off because of it. A coworker of mine almost lost his foot from it. Had he not undergone weight loss surgery when he did, he would have.

[CSaction]

08:12 AM on 06/13/2011

HEALTHY women make more.
HEALTHY men make more.

[Justjack1]

07:00 AM on 06/13/2011

Actually they should say physically fit, meaning toned and looking healthy, not sick looking.

[Justjack1]

06:58 AM on 06/13/2011

That sounds right, but skinniness isnt the only thing, its also personal appearance, because lets face fact, everyone likes to be around good looking people.

[Benjamin Rosenfeld]

09:38 AM on 06/13/2011

...and people that smell good.

[snork]

02:54 AM on 06/13/2011

It's funny how we love to conflate 'correlation' with 'causation'. I don't know to what (if any) degree aesthetic discrimination plays in salary with regard to weight, but when you see the word "presumably" in a results writeup, it is basically shorthand for "this is the working hypothesis, but we were too lazy to control for the variables necessary to making a confident declaration. I DON'T CLAIM TO KNOW the answer, but in the interest of responsible science, variables must be explained. How about: the correlation between healthy body/mind? weight/energy level? Productivity capacity between over-weight/underweight men and women (i.e. are men more energetic when slightly ~overweight~ and women when slightly ~underweight~)? types of jobs (e.g. if 'work from home' jobs where the worker is unseen/workers whose bosses are blind fit the same pattern, it would be a pretty clear indication that the cause is *not* discrimination but rather physiological). etc. Good science helps society. But this publication is junk science. While the study may have been legitimate and well constructed, whomever wrote it up clearly warped the results to enforce an agenda--that we should be nicer to fat women, and that there is a gender double standard--I happen to agree with the sentiment, but science must not be allowed to be manipulated to support ANY agenda--no matter how well intended. Otherwise science loses its legitimacy and we're on a slippery slope to anti-climate-change people garnering equal validity etc.

[focks9]

10:08 PM on 06/12/2011

A study done by male scientists who can't get laid but want to have skinny women at work. They think that this study gives romanesque women incentives to lose weight.

[Benjamin Rosenfeld]

09:40 AM on 06/13/2011

rubenesque

[Benjamin Rosenfeld]

04:53 PM on 06/13/2011

In his defense, Chrome's spellcheck did try to get me to change it to Romanesque.

[ldyqtee6]

09:19 PM on 06/12/2011

It's got nothing to do with them being skinny per se; rather it's because skinny women tend to wear shorter, tighter, more revealing clothes than women who have womanly figures. Pay should be based on merit and skill and not on appearance, but that will never happen in the US.

[anncoulter]

09:15 PM on 06/12/2011

Look at me. I am skinny as they get and make a shi$load of cash,

[zneask]

04:46 PM on 06/12/2011

I wish I was part of the study. Me: "Am I the only broke skinny one?...Really?"

[Vic22]

04:38 PM on 06/12/2011

There may be a correlation, but is anyone looking at the causation? Maybe people that are in shape and tend to have careers are more driven and Type A, like a wall streeter who gets up at 5 every morning to jog before work

[Dawn Sed]

04:56 PM on 06/12/2011

But that doesn't explain the discrepancy in pay between "very thin" and "thin" women (according to the linked Forbes article). Nor does it explain the lower pay of thin men. I think you're correct that people are jumping to conclusions too quickly, but I don't think this is about being in shape.

I'm more inclined to agree with Badgirl... that women with curves are considered a distraction, and I would add not taken as seriously as androgynous women.

[happypatb]

09:58 PM on 06/12/2011

Good point. The story was very light on details of the study's methodology and raises almost as many questions as it answers.

[Badgirl]

03:43 PM on 06/12/2011

In male-dominated business the androgynous look of a super thin woman works more favorably (read: is not a distraction). A low cut or open collar shirt on a 34 AA vs 34C ? Too "suggestive" when worn by the latter.

[Dawn Sed]

03:00 PM on 06/12/2011

In the linked Forbes article, it says that "very thin" women make $22K more, while "thin" women only $7K more. I think this may not be due to attractiveness, but rather that "very thin" women tend to have androgynous bodies, and are therefore seen as more masculine and *competent*. As someone who has tried hard to gain weight, I have gone from very thin to now just thin. Men are much more attracted to me now compared to when I was too thin.

Therefore, I truly wonder if this is strictly an issue of attractiveness. I can't say for sure, because neither article gives us any kind of measurement for "thin" vs. "very thin". Either way, it is clearly sexist.

[gclafontaine]

01:31 PM on 06/12/2011

Yeah, because people who keep themselves in good physical condition are more likely to be disciplined and hardworking in all respects. It's pretty simple.

[Christopher Jon Drzal]

02:59 PM on 06/12/2011

Exactly. I have a friend who's wife is very nice but she is OBESE. My wife doesnt think thats a part of why she cant get a job but its certainly indicative of something to employers...

[Benjamin Rosenfeld]

09:44 AM on 06/13/2011

Just because someone is skinny doesn't mean they're disciplined. You're not leaving room for the binge-and-purgers.

[gclafontaine]

01:09 AM on 06/17/2011

That's true. But they are certainly not the majority of "non-fat" people.