Black skin is Career Limitin'

Lighter Skin, Higher Salary, New Study Finds
By Eric L. Hinton

In what may fall under the umbrella of "least surprising news of the day" for those with dark complexions, a new study revealed light-skinned immigrants in the United States make more money on average than their darker-skinned counterparts.

The study, conducted by Vanderbilt University law and economics professor Joni Hersch, looked at a government survey of 2,084 documented immigrants to the United States from across the globe and found that those with the lightest skin earned an average of 8 percent to 15 percent more than similar immigrants with much darker skin.

Hersch drew her data from a 2003 federal survey of nearly 8,600 new immigrants. Her survey used an 11-point scale for measuring skin tone. Zero represented an absence of color while 10 represented the darkest possible skin tone.

"On average, being one shade lighter has about the same effect as having an additional year of education," Hersch told The Associated Press. Her study also found that taller immigrants earn more than shorter ones, with an extra inch of height associated with a 1 percent increase in income.

"To dark-skinned Americans this is of NO surprise, but who is really listening and truly taking this to heart?" asked one blogger.

Another added, "It absolutely is true. I'm a dark-skinned African-American, [41-year-old] male. I am an [IT director] with a college degree and 22 years of experience in my field. Most dark-skinned blacks have learned that in a corporate world where whites are the majority, a dark-skinned black (especially men) have to go out of their way to put white people at ease with them, to beat the stereotypes."

Harrison conducted that study with 240 psychology undergraduates at UGA. Each participant received one of two résumés that varied by educational and work experience. Along with the résumés, the participants received one of six pictures of candidates, all black, who varied by skin tone and gender. They then were asked to rate the candidate as a job applicant and to say how likely they would be to hire the applicant themselves.

Harrison found that dark-skinned blacks are at a significant disadvantage when it comes to employment. Even when they have higher educational attainment and more qualified résumés, participants were inclined to select their light-skinned counterparts.

"I think what was most shocking to me was to find that dark-skinned black males with greater credentials were still recommended less—or seen as less of a candidate—than light-skinned blacks with worse credentials," Harrison told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

Hersch will present her full findings next month at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco.

Jennifer Millman contributed to this article.