By Sally E. Smith

Employment discrimination is but one piece of the economic puzzle that keeps plus-size women at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum. According to Esther Rothblum, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at the University of Vermont and the country's preeminent researcher on weight and social stigma, plus-size women face multiple barriers to climbing the economic ladder:

• Plus-size women report being denied employment, promotions and raises at a much lower relative weight than heavy men
• Plus-size women report being denied employment benefits
• For women, the primary road to economic gain is through marrying a wealthy man. The more "attractive" (thin) a woman is, the more likely she is to marry an "attractive (wealthy) man
• Plus-size women aren't admitted to elite colleges, which are another avenue to wealth; their thinner female siblings, however, are accepted into better colleges and enhance their financial status
• In contrast to the common belief that poorer women are heavier, weight precedes downward economic mobility. When a woman, because of her size, doesn't get into a good college, is not hired and is fired, she becomes poorer
• The low self-esteem of plus-size women prevents them from applying for jobs, going on job interviews, asking for raises or promotions and continuing their education