The Impact of African American Skin Tone Bias in the Workplace: Implications for Critical Human Resource Development

Abstract

The impact of skin tone bias among African Americans in the workplace was examined utilizing grounded theory. The data revealed the harmful personal and workplace effects of the phenomenon. Findings suggest that there is a silencing of issues of race, power, and privilege in organizations. The author recommends utilizing a critical human resource development perspective in order to explore and address systems of privilege that silence employees and perpetuate inequities in the workplace.