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

Two years ago, Black artists at Long Beach Opera accused the company of racial tokenism and LBO canceled the production, which was to have featured HEX.

From Los Angeles Times

Franak Viacorka, an adviser to Tikhanovskaya, told the BBC that Lukashenko's gesture to Maria was tokenism.

From BBC

But a senior minister dismissed that as a "misconception about the bill fuelling tokenism".

From BBC

“Sometimes tokenism has run its course. I don’t want to just be that person,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

That kind of tokenism has always existed.

From Los Angeles Times