“I bet you don’t play basketball!”
“That dog is bigger than you are!”
“Excuse me, ma’am, can you see…over the counter?”
“Awww, you’re a little person!”
Those are all real things said to me – by complete strangers. Apart from an inner "excuse you" reaction, it always just boggles my mind that people feel the liberty to say these things – again, to a complete stranger (something like that from a friend or family member would feel different…I can take a good-natured joke).
From where I stand – literally, at 4'11, and figuratively, living in the world as someone at that height – it seems to me that heightism is one of the last vestiges of largely unchallenged, undiscussed bigotry in our society. Granted, there is some research on heightism, primarily in career opportunity (or lack thereof…yes, it's a thing, and we'll get into it). Yet on the whole, it's not something we think about when it comes to structural and interpersonal bias.
I could understand if even the term "heightism" makes you pause for a moment – because it feels foreign to you. As Aysha Imtiaz of the BBC explains it, "people generally don’t recognize their own heightism or perceive it as a form of discrimination. That’s because heightism is an implicit bias, and it doesn’t fit our mental template of discrimination as an intentional and harmful act."
But it’s real, and we need to talk about it. No one should feel less-than simply because of something about them that they can't change – and that includes height.
Me as a teenager, not having it with heightism then or now
Yes, I am a professional adult, thank you…
Imtiaz lays out what research has found about heightism in the workplace:
Research on systemic discrimination in hiring decisions has shown employers may reject shorter candidates even if their resume is similar to a taller applicant’s, and they subconsciously associate positive workplace traits like confidence, competence and physical ability with tallness.
Once hired, meta-analysis shows rates of promotion are positively related to height. Kimhi references Malcolm Gladwell’s widely-quoted survey of Fortune 500 CEOs in his 2005 book Blink. “In the US population, about 14.5% of all men are six feet or over. Among CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, that number is 58%,” wrote Gladwell.
Height can also contribute to a wage gap. Studies from the UK, China and the US all show a correlation between greater height and greater pay, though exact numbers vary.
In other words, if you're short, it seems to be that it's harder to get hired – and once you get hired, it's harder to get promoted. Even if you do get promoted, you may get paid less than other people at your professional position. How much less? About 1.30% percent per centimeter of height, researchers have found. Mark Travers of Forbes did the math: "a person who is 5 feet 6 inches making $50,000 per year would expect to make about $2,000 more if they were 5 feet 7 inches, and $4,000 more if they were 5 feet 8 inches."
Me as a teenager again, meeting my (then) Congressional Representative Patrick Kennedy...looking professional? Whether or not, my height shouldn't be a factor!
If shorter employees were inherently less capable than taller ones, well, it would only be rational for managers to hire them, promote them, and pay them more than shorter candidates. That would be hard for us shorter folks, but it would only make cold, hard business sense on the part of the powers-that-be. But, as Travers notes, there's nothing implicit about shorter employees making them less capable; those same researchers have found nothing genetic in shorter individuals that would lead them to execute poorer workplace performance.
As noted, the lack of recognition of heightism as phenomenon makes it a challenge to address – and that includes in the workforce. On a manager to employee (or applicant) basis, "managers…may have no inkling that the way they perceive a particular employee – and the employee’s prospects – is in any way linked to their height…" notes Imtiaz. Individuals propel action towards systemic change, and that starts with awareness. If there's no awareness on the individual-to-individual level, overarching systems and structures (such as laws and institutional norms) won't change, either.
Whether or not anyone I've engaged with professionally is aware of their own implicit heightism, I have wondered if it's held me back professionally. I've wondered if those with hiring decision-making power, as well as bosses (when I've gotten hired), have seen me as too child-like and unserious to be trusted with important opportunities – simply because of my height. Yet I'm a capable professional adult, thank you. I certainly have my growth areas (seriously, no pun intended) – but they have nothing to do with my height.
Me sequencing a yoga class -- I'm a professional adult, thanks!
It goes deep…
Indeed, it's not hard to fathom people seeing someone at my height differently because of it. More great explication from Imtiaz:
Subconsciously, we form beliefs about people that link height to both cognitive and physical qualities. We subliminally view taller people as more capable and risk-tolerant, dominant, extraordinarily talented and even charismatic. On the other hand, explains Pritchard, “People who are shorter are not taken as seriously. [They’re] not respected and can be the butt of the joke.”
I started this essay talking about very explicit language, but it's often more covert – a sign of just how intrinsic to our mental landscapes height-based prejudices can truly be. Just a few examples: "sell yourself short", "fall short", "short-changed". Indeed, language is "full of idioms highlighting the virtues of being tall, while associating negative qualities with shortness," Imtiaz explains.
I firmly believe that human behavior isn't random; it's based in something. Heightism may have roots in human evolution, in times when fighting for survival was a lot more prevalent and ubiquitous for homo sapiens. Perhaps greater height led to greater physical capability in hunting, in fending off predators, in facing the challenges that the raw wilderness threw our way.
Whatever those reasons may be, those are not the hardships that we as a species – on the whole – currently face. Anyone at any height has the potential to succeed and meaningfully contribute to society. Yet to have a fighting chance for all of us to realize that potential, we have to start with awareness and questioning of these biases. Imtiaz again: "we have to challenge implicit biases associated with a time when stature might actually have been linked with evolution and survival."
Like all implicit biases, heightism is woven into our worldview and our language.
Don't infantilize me, bro
While there might not be research demonstrating it yet, anecdotally speaking, we can say that heightism doesn’t only happen in the workplace (again, see: the quotes opening this essay). Infantilization is an all-too-common experience for grown women. The younger the women, the more “yes sir, yes ma’am,” they can be. They’ll be more submissive and compliant – you know, how women are supposed to be (eye roll...sarcasm, if you didn’t pick it up). Trust me, being short doesn’t help there (in those opening quotes, can’t you just imagine people tapping my head twice – “well, aren’t you a precious little thing”).
Here’s where it’s incumbent upon me, absent empirical research, to acknowledge that I can only speak from my own experience as a short woman. Being a tall woman comes with a different kind of heightism (being seen as too domineering and "bossy", for example), as does being a short man (just ask any "short king" who's on dating apps how that can play out). I want to be clear that there are various other experiences of heightism out there: just as real, just as valid.
That said, my age is my age, despite my height. How I comport myself and interact should be enough to be taken seriously as a grown adult – but, for some people, it’s apparently not. I’ve even had friends say, multiple times, how “tiny” and “cute” I am. Yes, that’s more acceptable to me than if it came from strangers, but still – why do you have to keep saying it? The emphasis is not something I enjoy, in all honesty. Do I reinforce a trait of yours that you can’t change, whether or not it’s positive?
I place no blame on them. I underscore the lack of awareness of a prejudicial phenomenon in our society – and my beloved friends are part of said society (if you’re reading this, I really do love you, and I’m not mad…hugs!). Bigotry thrives in the dark, in silence. Let’s shine a light, let’s talk about it.
If you’re about to comment on someone’s height, take a pause. Look into your own motivations for making such a comment, and consider the potential impact on the recipient. If you hear such a comment said, if you’re comfortable and it’s appropriate in context, educate and advocate.
If you see height playing a part in the workplace, in a way that unfairly disadvantages someone because of how tall or short they stand, try to do similarly (as much as if possible in your current position and in the work environment at hand). Support research that informs us on how various prejudices, including heightism, act in our society.
The more we know, the more positive change we can make. We can do this. Height might be a trait that we can’t change, but – in the wider scope of society – heightism doesn’t have to be.
We all deserve the opportunity to thrive, no matter how we show up in the world.
Images courtesy of Canva and the author