tokenism

[ toh-kuh-niz-uhm ]

noun

1. the practice or policy of making no more than a token effort or gesture, as in offering opportunities to minorities equal to those of the majority.
2. any legislation, admissions policy, hiring practice, etc., that demonstrates only minimal compliance with rules, laws, or public pressure:

   Admitting one woman to the men's club was merely tokenism.

tokenism

/ ˈtəʊkəˌnɪzəm /

noun

1. the practice of making only a token effort or doing no more than the minimum, esp in order to comply with a law

Derived Forms

• ˌtokenˈistic, adjective

Other Words From

• token·istic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tokenism¹

First recorded in 1960–65; token + -ism

Example Sentences

I understand that a number have gone to Dubai or wherever, so they’re just moving, and you could argue it’s tokenism.

From Time

College teams often engage in tokenism by bringing on a single female player, and the vast majority of scholarships go to male players.

From No Straight News

Together, slowly but surely, we are moving beyond tokenism, and transforming how organizations prioritize and realize diversity, equity and inclusion at every level.

From Time

If everyone’s involved, then there isn’t any sort of tokenism.

From Digiday

It goes back to tokenism and putting people of color in an awkward position by focusing the topic at hand on them rather than on the government.

From Washington Post

They must have dismissed India as a soft state whose breast-beating is easily calmed by tokenism.

From The Daily Beast

Conservatives may abhor affirmative action, but they adore tokenism.

From The Daily Beast