“Even when you look at corporate bottom lines, the ones that have more diversity have higher profit margins,” Knox noted. Companies can help forestall tokenism by making sure there’s more than one person from each demographic in a group.įurthermore, companies that increase diversity, equity, and inclusion also experience better performance and results. Unfortunately, this happens a lot: Kia Jarmon recalled getting separated from the only other African-American student in the fourth grade they were placed in separate classrooms to give the appearance of “diversity,” and this has continued to happen to her throughout her career. One critical step in combating tokenism - and encouraging diversity, equity, and inclusion - is ensuring that employees aren’t called upon to be the lone representative for their entire group. “There’s a whole entire person and a set of experiences that can be leveraged to the benefit of the organization.” “Organizations give themselves short shrift if they take a very unidimensional perspective,” Thomas-Hunt said. Panelists talked about how inclusivity extends to the individual, and that employees shouldn’t feel like they have to leave part of their identities at home when they go to work. Equity ensures that everyone has equal access to resources (e.g., salaries, networking, and mentors).Īs the term indicates, inclusivity means that each member, no matter their background, feels welcomed and valued within the group. Diversity means having students or staff from a variety of backgrounds, including ethnicity, race, gender, socioeconomic class, sexual orientation, and nationality. There are three components to preventing tokenism: diversity, equity, and inclusion. Tokenism: “the practice of doing something (such as hiring a person who belongs to a minority group) only to prevent criticism and give the appearance that people are being treated fairly.” -Merriam Webster “In another regard, it could be a company that’s really, genuinely interested in diversifying but their efforts haven’t been fruitful…the intent was good, they just haven’t gotten things lined up well.” And in one regard, it could have been that you were hired as a token,” she said. “You could be in an organization where there are very few people like you. Or perhaps the company genuinely wants to improve diversity among staff, but past initiatives have been lacking. If there’s only one candidate from an underrepresented minority within a group, that could be an instance of tokenism - or maybe the company is only just beginning its diversity efforts. Knox pointed out that intent is important in deciding whether or not a company is engaging in tokenism. The panel kicked off by defining tokenism: “the practice of doing something (such as hiring a person who belongs to a minority group) only to prevent criticism and give the appearance that people are being treated fairly” (via Merriam Webster).
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