Obese women struggle in the job market, although obese men appear to do just as well as average-sized men in the job market, suggests new research.
Jennifer Shinall, assistant professor of law at Vanderbilt Law School and author of "Occupational Characteristics and the Obesity Wage Penalty," suggests that obese women having more physical jobs with lower pay than non-obese women is a sign of sexism in the workforce since obese men aren't receiving the same set backs.
Some discussions are questioning if an obese individual falls under the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title VII).
"I think what my study suggests is that maybe that's the wrong question," Shinall explains in a Vanderbilt Law School video. "Maybe that may not be so helpful for obese individuals because what seems to be going on in the labor market really seems to be more of a women's issue. It seems to be negatively affecting women and not negatively affecting men. And so it really seems like it's more like a sex discrimination issue"
Shinall additionally notes that overweight women make five percent less than average-sized women - which is a statistic that is also not affecting men.
She further discusses the issues suggested in her research in this video:
