The Myth of Racial Color Blindness: Manifestations, Dynamics, and Impact

Allowing employees equal access and opportunities and leveling the playing field for individuals from different backgrounds can be a concern for many organizations. Whether organizational leaders are focused on creating a meritocratic work environment because they think it is morally right or whether they are avoiding negative consequences of unfairness such as lower employee motivation (e.g., Lawler & O’Gara, 1967), increased organizational distrust (Colquitt, Conlon, Wesson, Porter, & Ng, 2001), and backlash in the form of theft and litigation (Greenberg, 1990), many leaders will adopt formal diversity policies to guide decisions in hiring, retention, promotion, and compensation. Diversity policies differ in the extent to which they acknowledge group differences. Color-blind racial policies emphasize an overarching organizational identity and ignore differences in race, culture, and ethnicity (Stevens,