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Human resources departments and employees who make hiring decisions are not supposed to pick new workers on the basis of race, color or creed. That usually also extends to weight and age. However, these two groups are at a distinct disadvantage when they look for jobs.

Researchers from “Fairygodboss” showed a series of photos to 500 “hiring professionals.” The first conclusion from the data was that among the photos, in the one with the heaviest looking woman the potential candidate was considered “lazy” by 21% of the professionals. Only 15.6% said they would hire her.

Older women fared nearly as badly. Only 29.2% hiring professionals shown a picture of an older women responded that would hire this candidate. This was the case despite the fact that older women were considered “leadership material” and “reliable.”

The problem, particularly for the obese, is confounded by the fact that they may not always have recourse, in the case where their obesity is caused by a medical condition. Above The Law recently pointed out:

We’ve already mentioned that 49 states and virtually every locality in the US permit weight bias, i.e., do not consider weight a protected class, or prohibit discrimination based solely upon weight.

Leave the fact that, if women can’t or don’t want to lose weight, they are in trouble. A shame.

24/7 Wall St.
Closer Look: Why Are Women Underrepresented in Some Industries More Than Others