Colourism, or skin tone bias, is a form of bias that impacts individuals with darker skin tones. In this Harvard Business Review article, Ruchika Tulshyan highlights how inclusive leaders must become aware of how colourism manifests among employees of different identities and even among people from the same community who have different skin tones.
How to disrupt colourism
In the article, the author provides three ways in which we can disrupt colourism in the workplace:
- Educate yourself on the impact of colourism.
A great resource is the book ‘Color matters: Skin tone bias and the myth of a postracial America’ by Kim Norwood.
2. Learn to identify and disrupt colourism.
When you consider the diversity representation in your team, also consider skin tone. How about when considering who is offered high visibility opportunities? Noticing these biases is the first step before taking action to disrupt them. Linked to this, the author recommends that unless it is deeply relevant to the work being done, do not discuss or make observations about people’s skin tone, including ‘tans’ after being in the sun. This is an example of a microaggression that can contribute to feelings of marginalisation and exclusion.
3. Ensure colourism is included in organization-wide DEI awareness.
For global organizations, hire local DEI practitioners to provide expertise on how skin-tone bias may show up in that market.
We highly recommend reading the full article here.
