How Does Color Shape Inequality in Brazil?
New Research Shows Skin Tone a Better Predictor of Educational and Occupational Outcomes
For each increase in the darkness of an individual’s skin color, the odds of that person having a less prestigious job increases by 10%, even after taking account of other factors.
HOUSTON, TEXAS, USA, August 16, 2016 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Skin color is a strong predictor of an individual’s life outcomes. In fact, it’s an even stronger predictor than race, research from Ellis P. Monk, Jr., a sociologist at Princeton University shows. — Ellis P. Monk, Jr., Ph.D.
Using survey data from Brazil, Monk found that skin color is a more robust predictor of both education and occupational outcomes than one’s racial category on Brazil’s Census.
For example, he found that for each increase in the darkness of an individual’s skin color, the odds of that person having a less prestigious job increases by 10%, even taking into account other factors like that person’s educational background. And the gap in years of schooling between the lightest and the darkest skinned Brazilians is more than two times larger than the gap between whites and nonwhites.
“Race and color tap into different dimensions of individuals’ life experiences and the ethnoracial disparities that they face,” said Monk sates in a recent article in the academic journal "Social Problems."
He added that the research suggests that this same relationship between skin color and race may also be operating within the United States. Given the ongoing discussion about the importance that race plays in Americans’ experiences, this research shows that it may be essential to measure both skin color and racial categorization to understand how racial discrimination functions.
Monk was able to measure skin color by seeing how outside observers rate individual's skin tones and how that rating compares to the individual’s self-identified racial category in the Census. He suggests that others’ ratings of skin color are a better predictor of life outcomes than self-classified race because outsiders’ perceptions more closely align with the discrimination that individuals face in everyday life. By not accounting for skin color, researchers may be underestimating the amount of discrimination that individuals experience.
For further information, please contact the author Ellis P. Monk, Jr. (emonk@princeton.edu). The article appears in the August 2016 Issue of "Social Problems" and is entitled “The Consequences of ‘Race and Color’ in Brazil.”
"Social Problems" is the official publication of The Society for the Study of Social Problems and one of the most widely respected and read professional journals in the social sciences. This quarterly journal presents accessible, relevant, and innovative articles that uphold critical perspectives on contemporary social issues. For additional commentary, you can follow the journal on Twitter at @socprobsjournal.
Kasey Henricks
Social Problems
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