Weight Discrimination Against Women in the Work Place

Gathering up her portfolio, extra resumes, and obtained business cards, Jenna* (5'2" and 260 lbs.) shook the hands of the four project managers of Stan's Engineering* as she was leaving. She had just had her interview for a CAD Designer position for which she was confident she would be hired. She had an excellent interview, aced all the pre-requisites, had exceptional experience in the field, and was exactly what they were looking for and there was no doubt in her mind that she would not be hired. However, she did not get that call back as she had hoped. When she sent in her thank you letter, she got a response back that was very unexpected. They responded back to her with a letter to let her know that they would not need her services. That her abilities were very impressive, her schooling background and past experiences were solid, and she has a lot to offer the firm; but that they didn't feel she would "fit in" with the other employees because of her weight. She was appalled at the fact that she got turned down for a job she worked so hard to get because her weight.

Weight discrimination is a huge issue for women in the work place. Even after new laws were made to protect obese people against weight discrimination, there is still a huge problem and there always will be a problem with it. The Council on Size and Weight Discrimination defines it as an unfair difference in treatment made between people because of specific characteristics. It is based on prejudice, which is defined as a preconceived opinion or judgment without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge. They also define it as bigotry which is obstinate and unreasoning attachment to one's own opinions, with intolerance to any opposing views (1).