Abstract
Using a theoretical approach grounded in implicit bias and stereotyping theories, this study examines the relationship between observable physical characteristics (skin tone, height, and gender) and earnings, as measured by income. Combining separate streams of research on the influence of these three characteristics, we draw from a sample of 31,356 individual-year observations across 4,340 individuals from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY) 1997. We find that skin tone, height, and gender interact such that taller males with darker skin tone attain lower earnings; those educated beyond high school, endowed with higher cognitive ability, and at the higher income level (>75th percentile) had even lower levels of earnings relative to individuals with lighter skin tone. The findings have implications for implicit bias theories, stereotyping, and the human capital literature within the fields of management, applied psychology, and economics.
Highlights
Recent advances in the literature on stereotyping and implicit bias have increased our understanding of the processes by which observable individual physical characteristics may be perceived by others and may adversely impact organizational decision-making. [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9] Prior research has confirmed that individuals with darker skin tone, shorter individuals, and women all experience lower income levels over time, yet no research to our knowledge has examined the potential impact of all three variables at once
For every one unit increase in darker skin tone, annual real wages decline by $463.88 (= $21,475.93 × -0.0216). Considering this decline over a 40-year period, at the average risk-free U.S Treasury rate of 4.90%, this amount translates to a lifetime loss of $54,687.85. This lifetime loss amount is multiplied when individuals are more than one unit darker than “lightest skin tone”—so, for an individual rated a 10 on the scale (“darkest skin tone”), this amount would translate to a lifetime loss of $546,878.50, relative to an individual with the lightest skin tone
Drawing on implicit bias and stereotyping theories, we tested the joint effects of skin tone, height, and gender to assess whether the combination of these characteristics influences earnings, as measured by income
Summary
Recent advances in the literature on stereotyping and implicit bias have increased our understanding of the processes by which observable individual physical characteristics may be perceived by others and may adversely impact organizational decision-making. [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9] Prior research has confirmed that individuals with darker skin tone, shorter individuals, and women all experience lower income levels over time, yet no research to our knowledge has examined the potential impact of all three variables at once. Prior research suggests that individuals with darker skin tones experience more bias, discrimination, and likely lower levels of earnings than individuals with lighter skin tones, and height has been considered to be synonymous with importance and power. We expect that individuals who are taller and have darker skin tones will experience higher levels of discrimination and bias, which will lead to lower earnings over time In part, this may be a result of the heavily negative stereotypes affecting individuals with darker skin tones—the perceptions of potential unpredictability and danger [21] might be exacerbated by individuals who are taller (i.e., more physically imposing). Prior research suggests that skin tone and physical attributes—like facial physiognomy—may each have an impact on the way that others evaluate individuals; [55] as observers perceive these characteristics, the combination of height and darker skin tone is likely to activating implicit biases and stereotypes. Height will moderate the relationship between skin tone and earnings differently for men vs. women; in particular, for men, the negative relationship between skin tone and earnings will be strengthened by height (i.e., more negative for taller darker skin tone males)
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