9 Tokenism
Jessica Dunker
Tokenism is defined in the Brittanica Dictionary (2024) as “the practice of doing something” (such as including, or hiring, a person who belongs to a minority group) “only to prevent criticism and give the appearance that people are being treated fairly.”
Tokenism is often discussed in socioeconomic conversations around workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion, such as:
- What are the complexities of companies’ hiring practices?
- What are the demographics of the administrative leadership as a whole?
- Whose voices may not be considered when discussing new company policies?
Though these questions are important to consider within the workplace, tokenism can also apply to social groups.
Contemporary media from BIPOC — Black, Indigenous, People of Color — artists and writers have included themes of social marginalization and microaggressions among peers and social circles. Being “the only ____ friend” is common in social groups of any age.
This feeling of social marginalization is not limited to BIPOC folks, though. LGBTQ+ people have recently experienced a term familiarly known as “rainbow capitalism,” where companies promote rainbow themed merch around Pride month to increase profit margins.
Multiculturalism goes largely ignored or misrepresented in many social, professional, and academic settings. Consider how the tokenized individual might be treated by the collective majority group, or how the individual might feel in this subservient role.
Directions: Choose 1 article to read and discuss.
Caesar, Charles. “Enough ‘Representation.’ What We Need From Hollywood Is Real Change.” them.us, 2 July 2021.
Purks, Ebony. I didn’t know why my friendships kept ending. The Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2021.
Discuss & Reflect:
- Define tokenization in your own words.
- What do you think the difference is between tokenization and multiculturalism?
- How does tokenization misrepresent companies’ diversity, equity, and inclusion practices?
- Based on these articles, how do you think tokenization could be harmful to an individual?
- How can the workplace, schools, and social groups avoid tokenization?