Colorism, or skin tone bias, is an insidious form of bias that impacts women with darker skin tones across ethnicities and races — and it’s an issue that isn’t on many leaders’ radars. An inclusive leader managing a diverse team must become aware of how colorism manifests not only among employees of different identities, but even among people from the same community who have different skin tones. Disrupting these biases in action could boost inclusion profoundly.
How Colorism Affects Women at Work
Three ways to disrupt this insidious, global bias.
April 07, 2023
Juj Winn/Getty Images
Summary.
Colorism is an insidious, globally prevalent bias that deeply impacts the lives and livelihoods of darker-skinned women. The term refers not only to the preference for lighter skin between different racial and ethnic communities, but also within those communities. Colorism is an enduring vestige of colonialism and white dominance around the globe and disproportionately harms women of color. Inclusive leaders must work to prevent women of color from experiencing colorism at work — and make sure they don’t leave. The author presents three ways to disrupt colorism in the workplace.