The researchers found that light-skinned women were sentenced to approximately 12% less time behind bars than their darker-skinned counter parts.
Women with light skin served 11% less time in prison than darker women.
Dark skinned defendants are more likely to be convicted and receive the death penalty than lighter skinned ones.
If African Americans and Hispanics were incarcerated at the same rates as whites, prison and jail populations would decline by almost 40%.
India’s skin lightening cream, Fair and Lovely boasts 38 million users worldwide.
Many skin lightening creams from outside the European Union contain chemicals banned under safety regulations. These include mercury and hydroquinone – which with prolonged use are linked to poisoning, skin damage and liver and kidney malfunction – and corticosteroids, which in the UK are prescription-only products. Misuse of corticosteroid creams is associated with thinning of the skin, an increased chance of skin cancer and, counterintuitively, darkening of the skin.
Dark skinned Brazilians make up 63% of the poorest sectors of Brazil.
In 2006 University of Georgia study showed that employers prefer light skinned black men to dark skinned men, regardless of their qualifications.
A light skinned black male with a Bachelor's degree and typical work experience was preferred over a dark skinned black male with an MBA and past managerial positions.
A law professor at Vanderbilt University conducted a study of over 2,000 immigrants from around the world and found that those with the lightest skin earned on average 8-15% more than similarly qualified immigrants of darker hues.
