tokenism - Definitions from Dictionary.com

2 results for: tokenism

to·ken·ism

Audio Help [toh-kuh-niz-uh

–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.

[Origin: 1960–65; token + -ism

]

—Related forms

to·ken·is·tic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
tokenism

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to·ken·ism Audio Help (tō'kə-nĭz'əm) Pronunciation Key
n.

The policy of making only a perfunctory effort or symbolic gesture toward the accomplishment of a goal, such as racial integration.
The practice of hiring or appointing a token number of people from underrepresented groups in order to deflect criticism or comply with affirmative action rules: "Tokenism does not change stereotypes of social systems but works to preserve them, since it dulls the revolutionary impulse" (Mary Daly).

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