Managing Size Diversity is just as complex a task as any other diversity initiative. We at the Euell Consulting Group would like to introduce your company to a new way of thinking about size differences, body image, attitude and performance. We firmly believe that the best employee is not always the one who meets society’s weight standards and beauty image. Without fail, this is truly a case where you cannot judge a book by its cover; likewise, you cannot judge an employees drive, commitment, loyalty, energy or creativity based solely on their appearance.

Data suggests that women earn at least 12% less than their thin counterparts. It is clear that there is a crisis in this weight conscious society, and that crisis is not the obesity epidemic; rather, it is an epidemic of even larger proportions. This society is suffering from the worst case of body image and lookism than one could imagine.

For many women, their appearance is a yardstick by which their ability on the job is measured. Having the right figure is important for women in getting and keeping a good job in most of the business world (Frances M. Berg, Women Afraid to Eat: Breaking Free in Today’s Weight-Obsessed World).

Many studies on obesity in the workplace have proven that not only have we as a society appeared to have discounted an entire community of Americans. The result has been to limit the recognition, but we have done ourselves a grave injustice when it comes to the reality that we have limited our acceptance of individuality where obese people are concerned. Somehow, it appears as though we have counted these people out! You know them; they are your mothers, your sisters, your aunts, your wives, your daughters, your in-laws, your friends and they are people—simply people. (Veronica Cook-Euell, Experiences of Women of Size in the Workplace)

An entire market is left in the trenches. When you think about it, if persons who are obese or overweight make up 65% of the population of this country, what does that mean for its buying power? Instead of society shunning this group, one would think that the acceptance level and overall perception of people of size would shift accordingly. The truth is that more times than not, people are affected by size discrimination on a regular basis, so much so that even people who weigh a mere 130 lbs may consider themselves obese and unacceptable based on feedback from this fat phobic society. Therefore, not only are the effects of size oppression affecting those who appear larger in stature outwardly, but also those who, in their minds, are obese as well.

Bottom line, you employ these people. They are your clients and customers as well. One cannot assume that just because a person is large that they are also underperforming, lazy, shiftless, unmotivated, and irregular in attendance or any other stereotype that has been assigned to this group. Rather, thin people have been vexed by this stigma and many times secretly carry the pain of internalized oppression. There you have it; you’re losing money one way or another. You must become aware of what may be hindering the success of your business, the success of your company, the success in your family, and most of important of all; you may be hindering you!

For more information on how the Euell Consulting Group, LLC can assist your company in taking a closer look at these issues, please listen to our Size Matters Radio program and review our workshops and presentations to schedule an event that best fits you.

Veronica Cook-Euell
Euell Consulting Group/Size Matters with Veronica