Alongside forms of discrimination based on gender, class, disability and other characteristics, racism can have a significant impact on the way migrants are perceived and treated. Racism can be understood as any theory, doctrine, ideology, or sets of ideas that create links between genetic or physical characteristics individuals or groups with their intellectual, cultural, and personality traits, including the false concept of racial superiority.

The terms pigmentocracy and colourism have been used in specific contexts to describe the creation of racial hierarchies, segregation and power imbalances based on skin colour (and other physical characteristics). The aim is to legitimize the false notion of a superiority of lighter-skinned people over dark-skinned people (ECLAC, 2019). Whilst these concepts place a focus on skin colour as a key determinant of discrimination, these phenomena are expressions of racism.

Racism not only refers to discrimination based on skin tone, but can be based on a number of other physical characteristics as well, such as hair colour, eyes, facial features, and body type. Discrimination based on race also intersects with other factors, such as gender, class, language and disability in a multitude of ways.

A 2017 study of homophobia, racism and the experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) individuals in Saint Lucia highlights the existence of hierarchies based on skin colour. Due to the country’s complex colonial history characterized by both French and British control, homosexuality is believed to belong exclusively to white, Western cultures. As a result, there is more social tolerance for lighter skinned LGB individuals than their darker skinned counterparts. Homosexuality is sometimes described as a “white disease”. Dark-skinned LGB persons are accused of renouncing their racial identity as Afro-Caribbean and more frequently experience homophobia.

Social and economic factors, geographic location (rural or urban), skin colour and gender all intersect in the Afro-descendent women’s experience of discrimination in the Americas. According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Afro-descendent women have to contend with discrimination based on all these factors and in some cases in which women have overcome social and economic exclusion, they continue to face discrimination on numerous levels, including: based on their skin colour and their gender.

The intersection of migration and racism can have tangible impacts, including on a person’s financial inclusion. According to an article of the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP), in Mexico there is a correlation between skin colour and the possibilities of getting a job or accessing credit. Similarly, a study in five Latin American countries determined that the way in which people are treated in labour and educational contexts is related more to their skin rather, rather than their ethnic identity.

A further example of this can be seen in the United States, where darker-skinned migrants tend to earn up to 25 percent less than their lighter-skinned counterparts, according to a longitudinal study by Joni Hersch in American Behavioral Scientist. This study found that migrants with legal permanent residency and darker skin initially earned 17 percent less than a similar group with lighter skin in their first year. Four years later, this gap had widened to 25 percent between the two groups. This finding is supported by another study in American Sociological Review in 2010, which found that dark-skinned Latino immigrants experience racial discrimination that affected their annual income.

Racism not only affects migrants but undermines the peace and harmony enjoyed by all. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of the UN reaffirms that “discrimination between human beings on the grounds of race, colour or ethnic origin is an obstacle to friendly and peaceful relations among nations and is capable of disturbing peace and security among peoples and the harmony of persons living side by side even within one and the same State.”

In addition to recognizing the impact of racism, it is important to adopt a comprehensive and holistic approach when seeking to identify, prevent and respond to forms of racial discrimination and xenophobia within a given context, ensuring that other personal characteristics such as language, disabilities, gender, religion and other factors are also considered.

SDG 5 - Gender Equality
SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities