The persistent weight wage gap for women
There is a persistent wage penalty for working-age women living with obesity. The size or weight of women is one of many categories under which their bodies are subjected to relentless scrutiny. A major review carried out for the UK government by Carol Black in 2016 found that women living with obesity experience a 9 per cent wage penalty compared with working age women of “normal” weight — and that no such gap exists for men. This gap in earnings appears to be down to stigma and discrimination, with differences (though smaller) even when educational attainment, health inequalities and...