The Color Bind: Talking (and Not Talking) About Race at Work

Since the 1960s, the dominant model for fostering diversity and inclusion in the United States has been the color blind approach, which emphasizes similarity and assimilation and insists that people should be understood as individuals, not as members of racial or cultural groups. This approach is especially prevalent the workplace, where discussions about race and ethnicity are considered taboo. Yet, as widespread as color blindness has become, many studies show that the practice has negative repercussions, including reinforcing the existing racial hierarchy by ignoring the significance of racism and discrimination. In The Color Bind, workplace experts Erica Foldy and Tamara Buckley investigate diversity in office settings, looking at how both color blindness and what they call color cognizance have profound effects on the ways coworkers think and interact with each other. Based on an intensive two-and-a-half-year study of employees at a child welfare agency, The Color Bind shows how color cognizance the practice of recognizing the profound impact of race and ethnicity on life experiences while affirming the importance of racial diversity can help workers move beyond silence on the issue of race toward more inclusive workplace practices. Drawing from existing psychological and sociological research that demonstrates the success of color-cognizant approaches in building group solidarity, Foldy and Buckley analyzed the real-life behavior of seven work teams within the child welfare agency. The behaviors of three teams in particular provide an instructive account of what enables color cognizance to flourish in practice. While two of the teams largely avoided explicitly discussing race, one group, Team North, openly talked about race and ethnicity in their team meetings. By acknowledging racial and cultural differences when addressing interpersonal challenges within the group, the members of Team North communicated better and worked together more efficiently than the teams that avoided bringing up race. The key to achieving color cognizance within the group was twofold: It required both the presence of at least a few members who were already color cognizant, as well as an environment in which all team members felt relatively safe and perceived the shared goal of fostering more open and inclusive communication. Importantly, color cognizance also helped foster greater cultural sensitivity for the families served by the agency. As Foldy and Buckley demonstrate, color cognizance, though often challenging to implement, is a crucial step in creating more cohesive and high-functioning work environments of all types. The Color Bind provides a useful lens for policy makers addressing racial disparities in such fields as regulating public housing or addressing achievement gaps in education. By foregrounding open conversations about race and ethnicity, Foldy and Buckley show that institutions can transcend the color bind in order to better acknowledge and reflect the increasingly diverse populations they serve.