Colorism and employment bias in India: an experimental study in stratification economics

Vijaya, Ramya M.; Bhullar, Naureen

doi:10.1007/s43253-022-00073-8

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Resumes were graded based on an education rating, experience rating, resume rating, interview, and presentability. However, there was no significant difference in mean rating scores across skin tones (Vijaya & Bhullar, 2022). Despite these mixed results, it is crucial to note that behaviors and decisions can change when people are aware of their unconscious biases.…”

Section: Skin-color Discrimination In Academia and Employmentmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…The marketing of skin whitening products not only implied that whiteness equaled success and social mobility but also conveyed that darker skin was of a lesser and poor socioeconomic status. (Vijaya & Bhullar, 2022). On the other hand, in recent years there have been a rising number of western organizations adopting unconscious bias training (Atewologun et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Cross-Regional Analysis of Colorism Experiences in High Schoolers in India and the United States

Srinivasan

Harmon

2022

J Stud Res

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Around the world, various beauty standards are often portrayed in the media and expressed by people living in that region, which devolve into unconscious biases. Previous research points to a worldwide skin tone perception standard: dark skin is undesirable. Slavery in the United States and the caste system in India, among other historical phenomena, have played a role in creating this common perception. This study investigates colorism, defined as prejudice against dark skin tones, and aims to examine experiences of colorism and self-esteem through an online survey sent to high school students in India and in the United States. This research paper is unique because a comparison study of regions is not commonly found in the existing literature and, high school students, living in a globally connected world, will provide new perspectives on the cross-cultural issue of colorism. 122 responses (90 from India and 32 from the United States) were collected. A T-test comparing India to the United States found that students in India reported higher colorism than those in the United States (t = -70.219, p < 0.01), and students in the United States reported lower self-esteem (t = -53.33, p < 0.01) compared to those in India. However, skin tone was not significantly correlated with self-esteem or colorist experiences in India or the USA. These results show that the stigma of dark skin tones has not been mitigated and also suggests that there may be other variables apart from skin tone that have greater effect on self-esteem.

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Section: Skin-color Discrimination In Academia and Employmentmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Cross-Regional Analysis of Colorism Experiences in High Schoolers in India and the United States

Srinivasan

Harmon

2022

J Stud Res

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“…South Asians may identify as being Brown, but Harpalani (2015) suggests that skin color has nothing to do with this identity and has more to do with an alignment with other communities of color that is independent of white and Black as racial categories. Other clear distinctions would be colorism levels of Brownness attributed to less desirability, power, and privilege, evident in employment bias (Vijaya and Bhullar 2022); other distinctions are seen in plastic surgeries and skin whitening campaigns (Henley and Porath 2021), usually with lighter-skinned or multiracial models appearing in popular media culture (Okamura 2017).…”

Section: So What? What Does Anti-blackness Have To Do With Asian Comm...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Latinx and Asian Engagement/Complicity in Anti-Blackness

Aronson

Stohry

2023

Genealogy

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We live in a world that desperately wishes to ignore centuries of racial divisions and hierarchies by positioning multiracial people as a declaration of a post-racial society. The latest U.S. 2020 Census results show that the U.S. population has grown in racial and ethnic diversity in the last ten years, with the white population decreasing. Our U.S. systems of policies, economy, and well-being are based upon “scientific” constructions of racial difference, hierarchy, Blackness, and fearmongering around miscegenation (racial mixing) that condemn proximity to Blackness. Driven by our respective multiracial Latinx and Asian experiences and entry points to anti-Blackness, this project explores the history of Latinx and Asian racialization and engagement with anti-Blackness. Racial hierarchy positions our communities as honorary whites and employs tactics to complicate solidarity and coalition. This project invites engagement in consciousness-raising in borderlands as sites of transformation as possible methods of addressing structural anti-Blackness.

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“…The people's social and cultural consciousness is still shaped by the colonial standards of fairness and the subsequent supremacy of white skin tone. The Indian film and media industries further perpetuate this Westernized notion of beauty (Gelles, 2011), probably the most pronounced and infused to the minds of the masses with the introduction of Unilever's "Fair and Lovely" fairness cream, which conveyed the message of Fairness as beauty standard and remain a mainstay (Vijaya and Bhullar, 2022) in the cosmetic market. Consequently, people with dark skin tones are considered inferior and subjected to varied discrimination and prejudice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“The black is going”: a phenomenological study on young rural women's experience of colourism

Negi,

Abdul Azeez,

Rani

2024

IJSSP

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PurposeThe present study explored the young women's lived experiences of discrimination and othering based on skin tone in two rural localities of Uttarakhand , State of India. The authors used intersectionality as the theoretical lens for this study.Design/methodology/approachThe authors have adopted an interpretive phenomenological study in the conduct of this research. The authors interviewed twelve female participants in person using a semi-structured interview schedule. The data were analysed using the six-stage data analysis process of interpretive phenomenological analysis.FindingsThe study's findings underline the experiences of stigma, negative self-concept, marriage is a complex reality, media's influence and skin whitening is the first and last resort. Dark-skinned women experience stressful life events due to their skin tone and society's prejudice favouring white and fair skin tones. The experiences of bullying, social shame, guilt and low esteem were also vivid.Originality/valueThis study reveals women's exposure to negative experiences of skin-tone-based discrimination prevalent in Indian society. This is one of the first kinds of such study in India that captures the dark-hued women's recurrent phenomenon of discrimination in their daily lives. It further shows that skin-tone bias and discrimination are widely prevalent and practised despite the claims that Indian society is free from skin-tone biasedness and subsequent discrimination.

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Colorism and employment bias in India: an experimental study in stratification economics

Cited by 9 publications

References 19 publications

A Cross-Regional Analysis of Colorism Experiences in High Schoolers in India and the United States

A Cross-Regional Analysis of Colorism Experiences in High Schoolers in India and the United States

Latinx and Asian Engagement/Complicity in Anti-Blackness

“The black is going”: a phenomenological study on young rural women's experience of colourism

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