The Wages of Obesity
They’re lower, unless you are male, or black.
In 2008, obese women made an average of $5,826 (15 percent) less than normal-weight females, the George Washington University researchers said….
White women who were obese had lower wages in both 2004 and 2008 than normal-weight white women, while wages were lower for obese white men only in 2004….
In 2004, Hispanic women who were obese earned $6,618 less than normal-weight Hispanic women. In 2008, the gap among women narrowed slightly but doubled for men. Hispanic men who were obese earned $8,394 less than normal weight Hispanic men.
In both 2004 and 2008, black men who were obese earned more than normal-weight black men, while wages were similar for obese and normal-weight black women.
HealthDay News story here. Pointer from Jan Gurley.
Not quite sure what to make of this.
Ditto Brian’s comment.
There was a survey of people who attached a photo to their resume. The photo boosted interview call backs for attractive men, but not for attractive women. In men, attractiveness helped them land a job. In women, being attractive hurt them (presumably) due to envy bias on the part of female hiring managers.
While envy bias is one explanation, I think that places the burden of female unemployment squarely on females. I’m skeptical of that notion. Perhaps a more compelling explanation is that attractive females cause their male counterparts to act unprofessionally, both in terms of productivity and personality.
I’ve seen several studies on this subject that supply contradictory results, so it’s hard to lend this one any credence. The attached article is from CBS, and it explains that a new study found that for men, obesity and income actually have a positive correlation.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/08/earlyshow/health/main6938941.shtml