tokenism

American  

[toh-kuh-niz-uhm] / ˈtoʊ kəˌnɪz əm /

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.

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tokenism British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• tokenistic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of tokenism

First recorded in 1960–65; token + -ism

Example Sentences

In the run-up to this year's nominations, after it was confirmed Future Class would not return, alumni accused the scheme of tokenism and not doing enough to help them build contacts.

From BBC • Nov. 17, 2025

Others have described the Voice as tokenism and toothless.

From Reuters • Oct. 2, 2023

These days, things are far from equitable, but in most of the culture, female representation has grown well past the Smurfette-style tokenism.

From Salon • Jul. 18, 2023

But talking to the producers quickly dispelled his fears of tokenism in a splashy period reboot.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2023

That led to a culture of tokenism, which I take full responsibility for.

From New York Times • May 17, 2023