Height Discrimination In The Workplace Essay

Over the years, America has done many things to insure that all Americans are treated equally and fairly. From gender to race, America has gone the extra mile to protect those who are viewed differently. Unfortunately, short adults are not given the same protections as others. Adults who are naturally below average height should have the same protections as any other minority because of how their height affects job options, their status, and how others treat them.

Unbeknownst to many people, certain jobs have a height requirement. Some of these jobs would be law enforcement, most sports oriented jobs, flight attendants, pilots, fashion models, and certain military jobs (“Height Discrimination”). A few of these jobs have requirements in place in order to make certain aspects of the job easier, such as flight attendants and pilots. Due to the fact

that flight attendants have to be able to reach bags in the overhead cabin and commercial pilots have to be able to reach overhead buttons and switches, flight attendants have to be somewhere between 6’ 3” and 4’ 11”, not including shoes (McGrath), while commercial pilots need to be 5’ 2” to 6’ 5” (“Height Discrimination”). However, other jobs like being a fashion model, or a sports star, do not have aspects that absolutely require a certain height. Yes, most coaches would not want a person who is 4’6” or 4’9” to be tackled by a very muscular person of 5’10” or 6’4” due to the possible injuries the smaller one could obtain.
On the other hand, height does not always reflect skill and there are many athletes that have proved that (Hale). Regardless of what those athletes have done to prove that their height does not matter, many coaches prefer taller athletes (Liberman). Most people can see why there would be a height requirement or preference, so the bias in these jobs is not usually disputed and many people write it off as just how things are. A study in Australia found that those who are taller earn better wages than those who are barely average or below average height (James). Certain studies have gone even further and found that there is a 1.8% increase in wage with every additional inch (“Height Discrimination”). The wage difference is not just for the earlier mentioned jobs where height essentially matters, but instead it applies to almost all jobs. For those that are naturally short and hardworking, this wage difference makes no sense. If it was a matter of race instead, then there would be public outrage, but many people do not take the height problem seriously.
One's height also affects their status as well. To go further, many people believe that how tall one is shows how powerful or important they are. Being called tall is considered a compliment while being called short is considered an insult. Several scientists and researchers have explored this by doing certain studies. One of these researchers is Malcolm Gladwell, who measured 500 CEOs of different companies to see if their height could be connected to their position. He found that almost all of them were white males who were over 5’9”, which is the average for American males (Roper). Another study was done where women were given several men ranging from different heights to choose from. During this study almost all of the women chose those that were taller, even when the researchers tried to up the short men’s status by listing their achievements and making them out to be quite successful. When the women were asked on why they did not choose the short men, all of their responses were, “he is just too short” (“Height Discrimination”).
This bias for the tall does not just happen in America, this has been proven by studies done on the Mehinaku people in Brazil. The Mehinaku have different names for the males depending on their height, those who are average are called Wekepei and are averagely respected. Those who are tall are called Kaukapapai, they are highly respected and usually are treated as leaders. While those who are short are called Peritsi and are usually laughed at by the rest of the tribe. The Mehinaku are not the only tribes that have height hierarchies, Trobriand islanders of the Pacific, the Timbira of Brazil, and the Navajo of America have the same preferences (“Short”). For some reason, humans connect height with importance and tend to reward one for what they are born with, not what they worked for.
One's height is determined partly by their genetics, from both parents. If a child comes from a family where everyone is 6’ and over, then there is a very likely chance that the child will grow to be 6’ or over. The exact same case for a child that comes from a family of 5’ and below. However, there are other factors in place as well, such as environment, what a mother ate during her pregnancy, what a child ate during their early stages of development, and so on. Regardless of these factors, there are many that are simply just short. Just like the fact that there are people that are big boned. It is not a genetic mutation or something that can be prevented (“Height Hopes”). Given that stature has all those factors, one would think that it would be treated like any other common genetic trait such as eye color. Surprisingly, if a healthy child who comes from a short family, and therefore is also short, goes into a doctor's office for a checkup the doctor will most likely suggest human growth hormones.
Human growth hormones (HGH), are hormones that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans (Mandal). The side effects of HGH are nerve and muscle pain, swelling, carpal tunnel syndrome, numbness of skin, high cholesterol levels, risk of diabetes, and can contribute to the growth of cancerous tumors. It is commonly prescribed by doctors in situations where one has Turner’s syndrome, Prader-Willis syndrome, chronic kidney insufficiency, low hormones, or if they are naturally shorter than those their age (Dunkin). HGH is used for serious disorders, yet doctors, the FDA, and others think that one being short is serious enough to have HGH prescribed. Worse yet, usually those that are short and are given the HGH option do not believe that being short should be grounds for one to risk taking something that could cause cancerous tumors. If one is short enough to have the option of HGH, then they should have just as many protections as a minority or one with dwarfism would. However, Paul Steven Miller, who is a dwarf and stands at 4’5”, does not believe that. He says that dwarfs go through more discrimination than those who are short and well below average height.
Contrary to mister Miller's belief, short adults are faced with discrimination just as much as dwarfs and other minorities. In fact, a study was done that showed that short adults (male or female) faced more bullying in their childhood and teens than those of average height (James). The worst part is that not all discrimination is malicious; a good majority is done as a joke. In certain sitcoms, short characters will often be picked on by the other characters. The TV show Two Broke Girls is the best example of this. The show has quite a few comments in it that would be considered wildly inappropriate if they were concerning gender, race, or disability, instead (Braxton).
Unlike many racial and gender groups, those that are just short do not have an organization that fights for their rights and makes sure they are equal. At one point there was The National Organization of Short Statured Adults (NOSSA), who said that their goal was to support short adults and get rid of heightism in society (NOSSA “2013”). The NOSSA acted as a media watchdog, sponsored height-related research, provided public education, provided legal assistance, held online discussions and annual conventions concerning issues that short people faced (“National”). Unfortunately, they disbanded in May 17, 2013 (NOSSA “NOSSA”) due to lack of funds and support (NOSSA “Questions”). They had no support because many average size adults did not take them, or their cause, seriously.
There is no doubt that there is a stigma associated with those who are short.

Men who are 5’2” to 5’5” are considered immature, negative, insecure, unmasculine, and unsuccessful (“Short”). While short women are often treated as children in their workplace and are often not taken seriously (James). These stigmas exist, yet there is only one state (Michigan), out of the fifty in the U.S., that has specific laws that prohibit height discrimination. While only areas like, Santa Cruz, San Francisco and Washington, DC have laws against height discrimination (“Height Discrimination”). Nevertheless, all states have laws against gender, race, and disability discrimination (“State”).

Those who are well below average height face problems in the work force, with their peers, co-workers, and in the media. They face stigmas, discrimination, and in some cases will result to human growth hormones because their height is viewed as a problem or an abnormality. Despite of these, short people are given little to no protections. If the U.S prides itself on equality and equal protections, then short people should be entitled to those

protections.