The skinny on weight discrimination

From the Globe and Mail:

Expanding waistlines create risks to your career, according to a new study that found overweight employees are much more likely to be overlooked for opportunities, advancement and pay raises than slimmer staff.

At the same time, research shows that Canadians are increasingly packing on the pounds: More than half of the population is overweight. And another recent study found that current stresses of work life are leading people to increasingly reach for comfort food that could lead to even more weight gain. Here's what you need to weigh about the dilemma.

Weighty impact

The weight of obesity on a career can be severe, with those who are obese finding themselves twice as likely to earn a low salary, four times more likely to suffer bullying about their weight and six times more likely to feel their appearance has caused them to miss out on a promotion than those in lower weight ranges, according to a survey of 2,000 British workers by pollster YouGov.

And those who are very obese were four times more likely to say they never feel confident and twice as likely to dread applying for a new job than those who are not overweight. That translates into discrimination, with 25 per cent of obese employees saying they regularly suffered negative comments about their weight from co-workers. Only 16 per cent say they feel supported by colleagues in their efforts to lose weight.

That stereotyping extends to management, with 25 per cent of male bosses and 15 per cent of female bosses included in the British study saying they would turn down a potential candidate solely on the grounds of the person being overweight. In fact, 10 per cent of the managers said they routinely reject candidates who are overweight. The most common reasons employers gave? Perceptions that obese people are less energetic, lack self-control or are not hard workers.

It's a big issue in Canada as well, where 51 per cent of the population is now overweight, according to the latest numbers from Statistics Canada. Obesity has been on a steady rise since 1974 and now affects 17 per cent of Canadians, up from 15 per cent in 2003.

The stresses of business life seem destined to add to the weight gain, according to a study by job site careerbuilder.com, which found that 43 per cent of U.S. workers say they have gained weight in their current jobs. Of those, 25 per cent gained more than 10 pounds and 12 per cent had gained 20 or more. They blamed snacking at their desks and higher workloads in the tough economy. Also, 91 per cent said they are too busy to exercise on their lunch break.

What does the law say ?

There is no way to legally complain about weight discrimination in Canada because no federal or provincial labour laws prohibit discrimination based on size or weight.

“The Canadian Human Rights Act does not include size or weight as grounds for discrimination; therefore, we haven't had any cases and don't take complaints,” said Stacy Ann Morris, spokesperson for the Canadian Human Rights Commission in Ottawa.

Nor has anyone fought an employment discrimination case based solely on the issue of weight. “It probably will become a legal issue in Canada. It's just a matter of time,” says Sheryl Johnson, a lawyer for employment law firm Grosman, Grosman & Gale in Toronto.