tokenism — the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to do a particular thing, especially by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of sexual or racial equality
Part of speech: NOUN
Definition: the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to do a particular thing, especially by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of sexual or racial equality
Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈtoʊkəˌnɪzəm/
Example Sentences
- Having just one woman on a board of twelve men might be seen as tokenism.
- The movie's single diverse character felt like tokenism rather than genuine representation.
- My boss hired me for 'diversity' but gave me no real responsibilities - classic tokenism!
tokenism
NOUN[/ˈtoʊkəˌnɪzəm/]
the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to do a particular thing, especially by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of sexual or racial equality
the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to do a particular thing, especially by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of sexual or racial equality
Their mechanism faces criticism - tokenism exposed!
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
Tokenism emerged in 1960s America during the Civil Rights Movement as a critical term describing superficial gestures of inclusion without substantive change. The word combines 'token' (something symbolic or representational) with the suffix '-ism' (a practice, doctrine, or system), coining terminology to challenge performative equality efforts.
Breakdown
token (a symbol or representative item) + -ism (a practice, doctrine, or system of belief or action).
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“Having just one woman on a board of twelve men might be seen as tokenism.”
“The movie's single diverse character felt like tokenism rather than genuine representation.”
“My boss hired me for 'diversity' but gave me no real responsibilities - classic tokenism!”
“The restaurant added one vegan dish and called it inclusivity - pure tokenism.”
📚Related Words
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