Candidates of Size – Highlighting Sizeism in Job Searches

Flights

One of the most dynamic actions you can take to ensure an inclusive experience for candidates is to allow them to fly their airline of choice. Not all airlines are created equal and as such, certain airlines may be more comfortable for fat candidates to fly than others. To be clear, I use the term “comfortable” loosely. One might say that travel is uncomfortable for everyone, which may be true. However, sitting in a middle seat and simply not having an arm rest is a bit different than not being able to comfortably put an armrest down or dealing with the violence of passengers who do not want to sit next to you because of your size. To sit with your body compressed and collapsed on itself, smashed against a window, thighs pressed tight together, knots in your back and arms locked across your chest; cramping and growing increasingly anxious over the several hour flight – plus connections – is what some of us experience right before arriving to your campus.

Terah J. Stewart

In addition, each airline has a different passenger-of-size policy. What this means is there are some passengers who will physically not fit in or on one seat, and therefore they may need an additional or premium seat. The most inclusive thing you could do would be to cover that cost for your candidates, however, I realize that travel and auxiliary budgets continue to be strained. The next most inclusive thing you can do is to avoid buying the cheapest most restrictive ticket for your candidates. For many of us, traveling to your campus for an interview will mean we will still spend additional money to either buy an extra seat or upgrade the seat we have. It is impossible to do this if the administrative assistant or travel agent purchases the cheapest and most restrictive ticket.

I participated in an on-campus interview and I could not upgrade the ticket and could not buy an extra seat because there were not two seats still available next to each other. The only option I received from the airline – which was not my preferred airline – was to pay $40 to be pre-assigned to an aisle seat. Otherwise I would have been assigned a center seat I could not fit in.

Scheduling