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

• 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

But many have criticised the move as tokenism.

From BBC

For the Nigerian-born Catholic priest it just smacks of tokenism.

From BBC

Dr Yakubu said her appointment was not one of "tokenism" and she was not someone who could be "manipulated".

From BBC

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

From BBC