While we’re addressing the gender pay gap, let’s not neglect the lesser-recognised income inequality: the height pay gap. If you’ve never come across this before, that’s because it’s easy to overlook short things.
Studies have long shown that short people earn less per year per centimetre. One 2020 study in the scientific journal PLOS (Public Library of Science) based on data from 3500 mainland China adults found that every extra centimetre of height correlated with a 1.3 per cent increase in a person’s annual income.
Studies have shown that short people earn less than tall people.Credit:Istock
In Imperial terms, this means that a person who is five feet six inches tall and earns $50,000 a year would earn an extra $2000 for each extra inch taller they were. Someone six feet tall would earn well over $300,000 more in a 30-year career. Over a quarter of a million dollars! That’s enough to take out a mortgage on a cavoodle.
Researchers are unsure as to how exactly height is a factor when it comes to income, given that Grant Denyer has done so well for himself. Perhaps he’s able to offset the disparity with spectacular teeth.
But for those of us shorties who can’t afford Invisalign teeth straighteners, it can feel disheartening to learn that merit is barely a factor in the workforce. When you add up all the variables, physical attributes seem to trump all those qualities – such as “persistence” and “teamwork” – that feature so prominently on inspirational posters.
It turns out pay is often influenced by height, race and gender – even in industries where it shouldn’t matter. Oh, you’re a short immigrant woman trying to make it up the corporate ladder? Too bad, there’s a tall white guy who can reach the top, and he’s not even standing on a footstool.
Grant Denyer seems to have done well for himself, despite his height deficiency. But, let’s not forget, he does have good teeth.
In a similar injustice, dating apps are notoriously stacked against shorter men. When I was on them, I would always describe myself as having “Tom Cruise height” to avoid stating the raw numbers. This only helped me attain an equitable number of matches as the tall guys.
Once I went on the date, however, I had to rely on my personality and fancy dance moves to impress my companion. I’m glad I learned to salsa when I was younger, it helped me get a wife. The workforce should avoid the same initial rejections that happen on dating apps by making job interviews blind auditions, just like what we see on The Voice. It will at least knock out a few of the judgemental elements that are irrelevant to the position, like appearance and smell.
Once you have the job, however, you’re still competing for promotions and raises with the less-vertically challenged. Even if someone like me got the $100,000 leg extension surgery and gained 8 centimetres, that would only earn me an extra $1500 a year. Over the next 30 years, I wouldn’t even make my money back, and I’d be walking with a limp – don’t even get me started on ableism!
Normalising platform shoes in corporate environments doesn’t seem feasible either. We can’t expect people to turn up to client meetings dressed like Gene Simmons from the knee down. The onus really shouldn’t be placed on the marginalised to compensate for their – I can’t find a better word – shortcomings.
Perhaps it’s a lost cause for this generation, but we could plan for the future with smart initiatives. This could be things like a Vegemite subsidy for lower-height families to help those kiddies grow. Or my personal preference: a height tax. The taller you are, the more tax you pay. Unfair? No way. Shorter people live longer, we need the money. At least give us a bonus contribution to our super.
A height tax, in my opinion, is a super-reasonable policy and may even incentivise single people to offset their height by dating someone shorter. Hopefully by the year 2200, we’ll all be earning the same money for the same jobs and collectively standing at a comfortable 170 centimetres tall.
Dating apps are notoriously stacked against shorter men. When I was on them, I would always describe myself as having “Tom Cruise height”.
Nepotism, cronyism, racism, sexism and heightism have no place in the income equation. Let’s all strive to make our workforce a meritocracy. And if you were unlucky enough to be born incompetent, then that’s a genetic trait you’ll just have to live with.
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