Tokenism in the Workplace

I found a study that had been done on tokenism in the workplace that was published. The researchers found that tokens must perform their jobs under conditions very different from those facing their other workers. Consequently, token status has important social and psychological consequences.

The study said that the token doesn't have to work hard to be noticed, but she does have to work hard to have her achievements noticed. Many of the women studied told of situations in which their abilities were eclipsed by their physical appearance, creating additional performance pressures.

Token women also experienced the added pressure of trying not to make male co-workers look bad, of trying not to perform too well on group tasks. But because of their visibility, their actions can never be hidden. The irony is that, although they must work twice as hard just to be seen as competent, they also feel that their successes should be kept to themselves. There is a fine line between doing just well enough and doing too well.

The study also discovered that, in more formal settings like meetings and conferences, men would often preface their acts with apologies or questions about appropriateness directed toward the token woman—such as "I probably shouldn't say this in mixed company" or "Can we still use technical jargon?" The token then feels as though she is "interrupting" the usual course of events. Rarely does a token woman feel comfortable enough to prevent a large number of men from engaging in an activity they consider normal. But by saying these things, men make their dominant culture clear to the tokens and effectively state the terms under which tokens will be allowed to participate as outsiders.

Tokens can never be seen as who they really are. They must always fight stereotypes and tailor their actions to the desires and tastes of others. We can see the self-fulfilling prophecy at work here. Stereotypical assumptions about what tokens "must be like" force them into playing limited and caricatured roles. This situation serves the interests of those in the dominant group, who can fall back on preexisting expectations and traditional behaviors.