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MENTAL MODEL · M2465

Tokenism

Tokenism
BehaviorHigh supportOrganizational Behavior
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

The practice of making only a symbolic effort to recruit a small number of people from under-represented groups in order to give the appearance of diversity, without actually granting them real power or changing the organizational structure. For example, a token female director on a board.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

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- Hypocrisy detection: If a board that is all white men suddenly adds a black woman who is not responsible for core business, that is tokenism. It is a mockery of diversity.

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To appear diverse, token members from minority groups are included symbolically, but they are not given real power, and the structure remains unchanged. This is a superficial accommodation of diversity that actually undermines it.

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TokenismZH · Explicit
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