Height as a factor in social inequality: Analyses based on five Canadian national surveys

In this thesis, I explore the relationship between height and two measures of socio-economic attainment---income and occupation status. Some limited past research, based on U.S. and British data, suggests that height has a significant and positive effect on socio-economic attainment, at least among males. A common explanation put forward by researchers for the height-attainment relationship is that there is "heightism", or height discrimination, in the workplace. However, suggestions of a height-attainment relationship, as well as the "heightism" explanation, have had to remain tentative due to inconsistent results and limitations inherent in the data and methodologies in previous studies. This thesis overcomes several of the limitations of previous research and also provides the first compelling tests for socio-economic attainment differences by height in Canadian society.; Using data from five cross-sectional Canadian surveys, I conduct analyses for separate subsamples of males and females to explore the specific nature of the height-attainment relationship among Canadian workers. Various explanations of the relationship are tested. The findings establish positive height effects on income and occupation status after controls, although the height-attainment relationship appears to be stronger among males. Alternative interpretations of the height-attainment relationship tested in the analyses are: a socio-demographic interpretation; a social class background interpretation; an interpretation based on biases in the reporting of height; an interpretation having to do with the conjoint effects of body size, health, and fitness; and a social-psychological interpretation. While these interpretations receive some support, they do not fully account for the relationship between height and socio-economic attainment. Also discussed are the implications of the results for further research and theorizing on the role of height in social inequality.