Imagine that you survive colorism in your educational journey. You survive colorism in your job search. And you even navigate colorism in negotiating a higher pay. So you’re in there! You’re in the door. And then you realize…
That colorism just continues.
The colorist perceptions and narratives that impact the educational pipeline, hiring, and wages also operate for ongoing judgements and evaluations of professional performance, opportunities for mentorship, and prospects for career advancement and promotion.
This is part of a series on Corporate Colorism, so if you haven’t been with me from the beginning, you can get caught up here.
Watch Live or Scroll to Keep Reading
Notions of intelligence, competence, professionalism, culture fit, and overall character continue to favor light-skinned employees.
How often do you look at an organizational chart and find that the more senior levels get increasingly light and/or white?
We observe this time and time again, and it corresponds with the research I shared in my live on colorism in hiring. Light-skinned people are over-represented in more prestigious, higher paying positions. Dark-skinned people are over-represented in more pedestrian, lower paying positions.
Companies have to avoid creating yet another glass ceiling where dark-skinned people are hired but not promoted to leadership positions. And when dark-skinned people are promoted, companies must provide equitable conditions for their continued success.
One of the most common reports of colorism in the workplace faced by dark-skinned women especially is that once they acquire leadership positions, they’re often targeted by the people they manage or supervise or work alongside, and this includes other Black people.
In my work, I’ve heard so many case studies of:
- insubordination
- ignoring the established chain of command
- gossip
- cold-shouldering
- filing complaints against them for being “difficult” to work with
- questioning their intelligence, competency, and fit for the position
This can happen for any Black woman, but disproportionately impacts those with dark skin.
In many cases, dark-skinned women are more likely promoted in “glass cliff” situations when there’s a sinking ship that others don’t want to deal with or don’t want to take the blame for when things inevitably implode.
I have experienced this on more than one occasion as a teacher and professor in academia where sometimes students or colleagues, including Black students and colleagues, really took issue with me based on their biases about my skills, competencies, expertise, etc.
We also must recognize that whatever biases and forms of discrimination are artificially suppressing outcomes for darker-skinned people are also artificially bolstering the outcomes for lighter-skinned people. I find that my white colleagues and light-skinned colleagues have a lot of cognitive dissonance around this.
It’s not just a matter of darker-skinned people having lower performance ratings because of colorism. It’s also lighter-skinned people having higher performance ratings because of colorism.
White employees and light-skinned employees seem to assume that their performance evaluations are accurate, and that bias only deflates ratings for marginalized groups. But bias also inflates ratings for the favored groups.
If people didn’t have negative bias against those with darker skin, our ratings wouldn’t be as low. But also, if people didn’t have positive bias in favor of those with lighter skin, your ratings wouldn’t be as high.
Lastly, I’ll simply note that recognition for a job well done without corresponding compensation in the form of a commensurate bonus or pay increase only perpetuates further inequity.
If you’re interested in my speaking, training, or consulting services, please contact me here.
Homework: Look for concrete ways to support a dark-skinned woman who’s in leadership.
Affirmation: I am not threatened by anyone else’s success. My path is uniquely mine, and I celebrate it!