Vault's Careers blog reports on a study by Timothy Judge and Daniel Cable about the penalties that overweight people might face with regard to salaries. The study finds very different effects for men vs. women. According to the Vault's blog,
"In the Judge and Cable study comparing females' salaries and their respective weights, the greatest salary benefits for women occurred at two standard deviations below the average weight (the "very thin" category)—rewarded with an average of $3,980.88 increase in salary. But that "very thin" ideal only seems to apply to women. For males, the most-prized body type was "chunky and muscular," and men could gain much more weight—right up to the obesity range—before losing any money. On the other hand, there was a pronounced intolerance for a "skinny" appearance in men—costing those in the very thin range about $4,056.67."
So, assuming that this would extrapolate to computer consulting, all I would have to do is to hire programmers who are thin men or obese women and I'd get a great deal! [Assuming that health care costs are no higher for the latter group].
ReplyDeleteSeriously speaking, if such a market anomaly were to exist, won't companies sooner or later figure it out, rush to take advantage of it, and thus neutralize the discrepancy?