What does Rishi Sunak, the new prime minister of the United Kingdom, have in common with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky?
Despite the many differences, they are all 1.70 m tall – proof, according to many users on social networks, that Europe is now in the hands of the “short”.
On Twitter, journalist Tom Gara drew attention to what he described as “consolidation of European power in the hands of low kings”.
But he wasn’t the only one. Users from around the world also highlighted the short stature of the leaders and took the opportunity to remember other “successful shorts”, from the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1.56 m), the Roman Emperor Alexander the Great (1.70 m) and French King Louis 14 (1.62 m) to Jeff Bezos (1.70 m), founder of Amazon, passing through actor Tom Cruise (1.70 m) and Mark Zuckerberg (1.70 m), from Facebook.
Despite this, studies show that shorter men are, in general, less likely to succeed than their taller peers, and this is reflected in lower wages and fewer career opportunities.
According to author Malcolm Gladwell in his book Blink, each inch in height is worth $789 more in salary. Which means that a 1.82m man can earn an extra $7,800 a year for the same job. Over a 40-year career, that could add up to an extra $315,600.
A 2006 University of Chicago study titled “What Makes You Click? — Mate Preferences and Matching Online Dating Results” showed that, on average, men who are 5’6″ need to earn $175,000 ( R$ 931 thousand) more annually to be as desirable as men with almost 1.80 m. The number increases with shorter heights, with men of 1.50 m, for example, needing to earn another US$ 317 thousand (R$ 1.68 million) in income.
The fact is that, in the list of presidents of the Forbes 500 companies, the majority are men — only very few women — and their average height is 1.82 m.
This explains Canadian Allan Mott’s frustration. In an article for the BBC in 2019, he comments on what it’s like to live 18 cm shorter than the average Canadian man. He is 1.57 m tall.
“I know the reality of what it means to be a short man in our society. There is as much discrimination over size as there is over gender, race, religion, etc.”
For Mott, like so many other shorties around the world, the new wave of European leaders could represent the long-awaited stroke of self-esteem.
This text was originally published here.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
