Women, Weight and Work

Leaders need to pay it forward, especially when our experiences can help others facing barriers to inclusion to overcome them. As we approach International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, I’ve been struck by reports I saw regarding comedian and actress Amy Schumer.?

Schumer has been subjected to terrible shaming and criticism regarding changes to her appearance while she was promoting her new show. This isn’t new: the relentless monitoring of the wardrobe of female newscasters compared to their male peers comes to mind too.

The comments about Schumer were truly outrageous. Amy responded to the comments with her typical wit: “I’ve enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance as all women do for almost 20 years.” She noted the irony that she was exposed to this criticism while promoting a TV show that she 1) created, 2) wrote, 3) starred in and 4) directed, a rarity in an industry otherwise dominated by men. Ultimately, she revealed that her appearance had changed due to a medical diagnosis.?

This episode reminded me of recent research that 71% of obese Americans said they had faced workplace discrimination, with more women than men saying they had faced such discrimination.[1]

Further, weight discrimination has a more detrimental impact on their career than men. A separate study found obese women with a bachelor’s degree earn a full 12% less than their thinner colleagues (while obese men earn 5% less).[2]

At several points in my career, I have been severely overweight. I once had a career coach tell me that my weight would hold me back because people assume those who are overweight are lazy.

For years after this encounter, whenever I spoke in front of a room, I wondered whether people were thinking “there’s that lazy woman talking up there.” This advice, by the way, was not only damaging to my mental health and my self-confidence, it also caused me to gain even more weight as I continued to judge myself.

Perversely, when I have lost weight, I have had people comment that I am too skinny, my face looks tired, or I look sick. The message I’ve often taken away is that there is something wrong with my body. That it is somehow not good enough.

I’ve always tried to brush off other people’s opinions about my body, and frankly I am now at the stage where it almost never impacts me in terms of how I do my work. But in those early days, it distracted me and made it even harder to present. There were some positives too. As a form of a shield, I developed a sense of humour that has helped me to become a better presenter and to diffuse tense situations.

If I could add up all the time I’ve spent worrying about whether I was too overweight or too skinny, I could have written a novel, mentored more people, spent more time developing other skills, or just relaxed comforted in the thought that my weight or appearance did not define me… my love for my family and friends, how I treat the people around me and the quality of my work is what defines me.

Weight-based discrimination isn’t the only type of workplace bias that more often and significantly impacts women. Women also face ageism[3], racism[4], and gender-based discrimination at a rate higher than men. This is unacceptable.

Each of us has a role in narrowing the gender gap and ensuring women have opportunities to have successful and fulfilling careers by not tolerating discrimination of any kind. And for anyone, regardless of their gender, challenged by barriers to inclusion as a result of other people’s perceptions of their bodies, I hope me sharing my experience gives you confidence that you’re not alone and space to overcome those barriers.

Let’s be kind to ourselves and to those around us. We never know what someone is going through, and words can really hurt people. Let’s focus instead of what brings us together – a shared humanity.

[1] “6 in 10 overweight American workers have experienced weight discrimination". Resume Builder. 2023/5/1, ?https://www.resumebuilder.com/6-in-10-overweight-american-workers-have-experienced-weight-discrimination/

[2] “The obesity pay gap is worse than previously thought”, The Economist, 2023/11/23. https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2023/11/23/the-obesity-pay-gap-is-worse-than-previously-thought

[3] “Women in Leadership Face Ageism at Every Age.” Harvard Business Review. 2023/6/16. https://hbr.org/2023/06/women-in-leadership-face-ageism-at-every-age

[4] “Racism and Sexism Combine to Shortchange Working Black Women.” Center for American Progress. 2019/8/22. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/racism-sexism-combine-shortchange-working-black-women/