Reimagining “racial” stratification and inequality: inter- and intraracial colorism in Trinidad and Tobago

Introduction: Research on ethnoracial inequality in Trinidad and Tobago has principally focused on intergroup comparisons using broad census categories to examine differential access to key outcomes. Fewer studies, however, have examined how colorism-the systemic conferral of (dis)advantages based on one's rank on a skin shade gradient-shapes life chances. Using skin shade, an embodied cue used in the ascription of race, may offer more nuanced and comprehensive understandings of inequality. Conceptualizing colorism as a continuum bounded both between and within racialized groups, this study offers a unique lens on how skin shade structures socioeconomic outcomes. Method: Using nationally representative data from the 2010-2023 AmericasBarometer surveys, I examine the impact of interviewer-rater skin color on two key indicators of socioeconomic wellbeing-educational attainment and relative wealth-both inter- and intraracially. I also assess the relative effects of intraracial colorism by ethnoracial group. Results: Findings show that darker skin is significantly associated with reduced odds of attaining higher levels of education and reduced access to household amenities. Intraracially, color-based disparities persist across all groups: East Indians are most affected in terms of educational access, while mixed-race individuals show the largest disparities in household amenities. Discussion: The study highlights the multidimensionality of colorism by integrating intraracial and interracial analyses. By centering the case of Trinidad and Tobago, the findings highlight the enduring power of embodied cues-i.e., skin shade-in structuring social outcomes. Moreover, this study emphasizes the need for increased recognition of colorism as an active and salient racialized stratifier that shapes life chances, apart from more commonly centered "racial" divisions.