The Costs of Racial “Color Blindness”

It’s a natural tendency, proven time and again in research: When you see a new person, one of the first things you notice is his or her race. In business life, however, we typically pretend we don’t notice—a behavior that’s called “color blindness”—because we want to reduce our odds of exhibiting prejudice or engaging in […]

by

Michael I. Norton

and

Evan Apfelbaum

by

Michael I. Norton

and

Evan Apfelbaum

From the Magazine (July–August 2013)

It’s a natural tendency, proven time and again in research: When you see a new person, one of the first things you notice is his or her race. In business life, however, we typically pretend we don’t notice—a behavior that’s called “color blindness”—because we want to reduce our odds of exhibiting prejudice or engaging in discrimination, or of seeming to do either.

A version of this article appeared in the July–August 2013 issue of Harvard Business Review.

Michael I. Norton is the Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He is the author of The Ritual Effect and co-author of Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending. His research focuses on happiness, well-being, rituals, and inequality. See his faculty page here.
Evan Apfelbaum is a social psychologist and associate professor at BU’s Questrom School of Business. His research leverages behavioral science to reveal the challenges and potential of diversity and social change.

The Costs of Racial “Color Blindness”

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