Broadly interviews Blackstone about how height, weight affect pay
Amy Blackstone, a sociology professor at the University of Maine, spoke with Broadly for the article, “How height and weight affect your pay.” A new study found that tall men and thin women are paid more than those who are shorter or larger, according to the article. Blackstone told Broadly that employers aren’t intending to amount an employee’s value to physical characteristics beyond their control, but that doesn’t mean gender biases don’t invade the workplace. “No doubt [employers] like to think that they value and reward employees based on their contributions at work,” Blackstone said. “These findings highlight the need for continued vigilance and tracking on the part of employers to look for patterns that may suggest unintended discrimination.” She added she isn’t surprised to hear taller men receive higher pay, because “height connotes power and authority.” The fact that overweight women are paid less at work is even less surprising, given the cultural obsession with thinness, the article states. “For women, being thin means taking up less space, something that is expected of women both literally and symbolically,” Blackstone said.