Breaking Down Barriers in Boardrooms
The landscape of leadership is witnessing a seismic shift as plus-size women refuse to let size define their professional aspirations. 2023 saw a high of 53 women CEO’s in the Fortune 500, surpassing 10% for the first time, but still representing a dismal number of leaders that represent $18 trillion in revenue in 2023. While the overall representation of women in executive positions remains challenging, plus-size women face additional layers of discrimination that make their achievements even more remarkable. A 2017 Fairygodboss study shows women are less likely to get hired if they are perceived as plus size. Twenty-one percent of the hiring professionals who were surveyed described the heaviest-looking woman as ‘lazy.’ Only 18 percent said she had leadership potential, while 21 percent of respondents described her as unprofessional. Only 15.6 percent of hiring professionals said they would consider hiring the heaviest-looking woman.
The data reveals how deeply entrenched size bias remains in professional settings. Linkedin found that, on average fat workers earned $2,512 less than their colleagues with average or ‘normal’ BMI ranges per year. In the US, on average, obese people can expect to earn anywhere from 1 to 6 percent less than their smaller-bodied teammates. Yet despite these systemic obstacles, plus-size women are forging ahead, creating their own paths to leadership success.
The Confidence Factor That Sets Leaders Apart
Research consistently shows that confidence plays a crucial role in women’s career advancement, but the journey looks different for everyone. Evidence suggests women, especially early in their careers, are more likely to doubt their abilities compared to men. This self-perception impacts decision-making and actions. For plus-size women, this confidence challenge is compounded by societal expectations and workplace bias.
In a 2023 survey, Body Talk found that the number of women who described themselves as ‘very confident’ had decreased by 23% since the pandemic. In fact, fewer than a third of women surveyed described themselves as ‘very confident’. However, some women are breaking through these barriers by redefining what leadership confidence looks like.
Research reveals that self-confidence is a key factor in how women progress throughout their professional careers. Interviewees ranked their own self-confidence trajectories, confirming the research that women start with lower self-confidence than men, but gain equal footing and ultimately surpass men’s levels of self-confidence somewhere beyond forty years of age. This trajectory suggests that confidence is not static but can be developed and strengthened over time. The key lies in understanding that authentic confidence doesn’t require conforming to traditional expectations about appearance or leadership style.
Building Entrepreneurial Highways Outside Traditional Systems
When traditional corporate structures fail to recognize their potential, many plus-size women are choosing to build their own businesses. Revenue from women-owned businesses increased by 50.8% between 2019 and 2023, outpacing traditional business growth rates. This entrepreneurial surge represents more than just business creation; it’s about establishing new standards for success.
According to recent estimates, women own approximately 39% of all U.S. enterprises, and this isn’t just about numbers on a spreadsheet. These women are creating businesses that reflect their values, serve their communities, and prove that success doesn’t require shrinking yourself to fit someone else’s expectations. The digital age has particularly empowered plus-size women to bypass traditional gatekeepers.
Plus-size women entrepreneurs aren’t just building profitable companies – they’re creating workplaces and products that reflect their lived experiences and values. During economic downturns, women-owned businesses are thirty-two percent more likely to adjust business models than male-owned firms. This adaptability stems from years of navigating systems that weren’t designed with them in mind, developing resilience that becomes a competitive advantage.
The Body Positivity Movement’s Impact on Professional Success
The relationship between body acceptance and professional confidence has become increasingly evident in workplace dynamics. While The rise in popularity of drugs like Ozempic combined with changing ‘surgery trends’ have led some industry figures to question whether we are regressing to the extreme body ideals of the 90s. This year saw a huge spike in general awareness of Ozempic and similar drugs, thanks to usage by celebrities and influencers, as well as promotion by medical professionals.
Despite cultural backsliding in some areas, the core principles of body acceptance continue to fuel professional advancement. With many plus size people highlighting their experiences of discrimination in areas like the workplace, or the medical sector, we have by no means reached a utopia of body positivity. However, in recent years it has certainly felt as though visibility of a range of bodies has improved as well as increased discussions surrounding society’s attitudes towards body diversity.
In 2024, official data from over 100 plus-size influencer campaigns conducted by Influencer Matchmaker highlights the pivotal role of these influencers in the body positivity movement. Representing diverse backgrounds, these influencers leverage platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to share empowering content and inspire their audiences. This visibility creates new role models for plus-size women entering professional environments.
Overcoming Workplace Microaggressions and Bias
The professional environment presents unique challenges for plus-size women leaders, who often face subtle but persistent forms of discrimination. Having judgment questioned in area of expertise rose from 36% in 2018 to 38% in 2019, then fell to 31% in 2021 and 2022 and 23% in 2023, before rising to 38% in 2024. Being mistaken for someone at a much lower level was 20% 2018, 18% in 2019, 16% in 2022, 9% in 2023, and 18% in 2024. Being interrupted or spoken over more than others decreased from 50% in 2019 to 29% in 2021 and 22% in 2023, before increasing to 39% in 2024.
These microaggressions are particularly challenging for plus-size women, who may also face comments about their appearance or assumptions about their capabilities based on size stereotypes. Successful plus-size leaders have learned to address these situations directly while maintaining their professional composure. They’ve developed strategies for redirecting conversations back to their expertise and accomplishments.
Employee “feel valued” scores rise from 61% to 72% when managers are women Gallup surveys highlight that teams led by women report stronger recognition, equitable workload distribution, and coaching-oriented feedback. These factors boost engagement, slash turnover intent by eight percentage points, and correlate with higher customer-satisfaction metrics. This data suggests that diverse leadership, including plus-size women, brings tangible benefits to organizational culture and performance.
The Technology Sector’s Changing Landscape
Technology has become a particularly powerful space for plus-size women to establish leadership roles, partly because digital platforms can initially minimize visual bias. AI-driven startups are gaining momentum, with twenty-five percent of the 50 largest funding rounds for female founders in 2024 directed at AI companies, and currently, seventy-seven percent of female founders leverage AI in their businesses.
Women are still less likely to work in engineering and technology. Namely, they make up a mere 16% of technical roles. 32% of women who have engineering or technical roles in are the only women in the room at their workplace. For plus-size women in tech, this isolation can be even more pronounced.
However, successful plus-size tech leaders are changing these dynamics by creating inclusive environments and mentoring other women. They’re proving that technical expertise and leadership capability have nothing to do with body size, challenging long-held assumptions in male-dominated fields. Their success is opening doors for the next generation of diverse tech leaders.
Global Perspectives on Inclusive Leadership
The movement toward inclusive leadership extends beyond national borders, with plus-size women worldwide challenging traditional power structures. New data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women reveal limited progress in achieving gender equality in political leadership at the start of 2025, the year which marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the landmark UN framework which set out the roadmap for gender equality and women’s rights. According to the 2025 edition of the IPU–UN Women “Women in politics” map, men outnumber women by more than three times in executive and legislative positions.
As of 1 January 2025, there are 29 countries where 32 women serve as Heads of State and/or Government. At the current rate, gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be reached for another 130 years. Within this challenging landscape, plus-size women leaders are making their mark by focusing on competence over appearance and results over stereotypes.
DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast 2023 showed that companies with strong DEI programs have at least 35% women leaders on average, compared to only 25% women leaders in companies with no or low-quality DEI programs. This data suggests that organizations prioritizing diversity and inclusion create more opportunities for all women, including those who don’t fit traditional leadership stereotypes.
The path forward requires continued advocacy and systemic change, but plus-size women leaders are proving that authentic leadership transcends physical appearance. Their success stories demonstrate that confidence, competence, and vision matter more than conforming to outdated expectations about how leaders should look.
