By Elizabeth Benu,
The other day as I was shopping I happened to overhear a conversation between two ladies. One was talking about her sister who was told by her boss that her weight was an indication that she was not in control of her life.
“My sister has been overweight all her life but she is intelligent and works very well. I do not understand why her boss would say that. Worse still the boss told her its either she loses weight or gets fired,” the shopper added.
This is not something new; weight is a sensitive topic on both the petite and the plus size people. There are these stereotypes, myths, and biases that exist concerning weight be it in the social scene or corporate scene.
Recently a blogger and writer at the Saturday nation hit below the belt and called married women fat and it stirred many emotions. For police and KDF recruitment a below 50 kg weight does not make you a successful applicant.
Weight discrimination happens even if not openly.I sought Kenyans opinions on whether they consider this discrimination fair and any experiences they have
Nancy Kariuki says, “My boss considers fat people lazy and she cannot give them any senior position in the office . Most times the plus size employees are those that serve tea or wash our floors. I think this is all about perception and prejudgments. I believe that all factors must be considered when employing someone.”
“Physical attributes of a person do not count in as a factor unless it is in the job description such as models or police officers but for other jobs it is not fair. Capability and intellect are paramount to a person’s weight,” says Fridah Wambui*
Michael Syombua is in support of the KDF weight limit. “With some weight you cannot survive the intensive training that goes on in those camps. When you are in the military, you have to be fit. In the same way you cannot be in a swim suit advert if you are plus size, KDF would not recruit a petite size,” Mr. Syombua adds.
Salome Chebet a Sales Manager says, “In my department at work if we fired all the ‘fat’ or ‘thin’ people there wouldn’t be much of a department left. Only two people are of average weight. Its all about people finding a way to harmoniously live together without discriminating.”
Steven Odongo had advice for plus size or petite size people. “Ensure that your size does not hinder your ability to perform. If you got hired in the first place then you have something to show, so any discrimination should not put you down,” he advices.
What’s your take on the weight issue? Share any experience at the comment section below.
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