Problems with the Token Minority
One of the biggest gender biases that women encounter in the workforce is the concept of the “token” female (Schulte, 2015). In this revolutionary age of heightened scrutiny on gender biases in the workplace, many employers are increasing the diversity of their employees to match the makeup of the population more accurately (Llopis, 2017). Unfortunately, if this is done with ulterior motives, it can have disastrous consequences in the workplace. Two of the consequences of gender bias that stood out to me are doubts about ability and competition among minorities.
First off, due to history of discrimination in the workplace, many minorities have doubts when they first start working in a new environment (Llopis, 2017). Were they were hired based upon their ability or to fill a diversity quota, or some sort of combination? While they are unlikely to be hired if they were unqualified, the thought may cross their mind that the final decision could have been based upon their race and/or gender. I have experienced this doubt first hand regarding a promotion I received even though I believed myself to be the most qualified candidate. Research has shown this mindset can be demeaning to new hires as they doubt their ability to perform well in their new positions (Stereotype Threat Widens Achievement Gap, 2006). The problem with this doubt is that in some cases it is rooted in truth. Some minorities are hired to fill a quota (Llopis, 2017). The expectation is that they will be incompetent or “just there for looks”. This creates a challenge for people after they are hired. They must overcome the stereotypes and prove once again that they are qualified for the given positions.
This leads me to the second problem with the “token” minority, the idea that there can only be one. In Shulte’s article, she describes it as a “Tug of War” between the few women in the workforce competing for the one or two positions that are arbitrarily set aside for them (2015). Some hiring managers feel that having too many women can make the work environment too catty or too cliquey. It is almost as if they expect grown women to act like teenagers in the workplace and believe that having a group of homogeneous people will lead to less conflict. I would argue that conflict drives innovation and that without it the industry is missing a whole set of ideas that can further companies. To some it may seem that by having one or two “token” females, they can introduce these ideas without the negative effects; that’s not true. Without a well-balanced and diverse team, members can feel unsupported and overruled. This can make them less likely to share their ideas and ultimately stifle success for the team.
This problem of the “token” minority can be especially hard-hitting because it can be difficult to get testimony or pinpoint exact locations in the workforce of it happening. Companies and employees alike are reluctant to admit this blatant discrimination in the workplace. One unusual place it is often seen in movies and TV shows. There will often be a whole team of lawyers, police officers, or doctors and only one person of color or one woman. While producers might claim that it is representative of the workforce, the case could be made that this is perpetuating the bias in the workforce in the first place. Overall, employers should never limit the people on their teams to predetermined demographics. They should hire based upon merit or ability and educate themselves on the dangerous of hidden biases. It’s pretty obvious when companies hire for appearances, they aren’t fooling anyone.
Llopis, Glenn. (2017). Workforce Representation Is About Quotas, Not Growth: It’s Time To Embrace Diversity With Inclusion. Forbes, May 6, 2017.
Schulte, B. (2015). Black and Latina women scientists sometimes mistaken for janitors. The Washington Post, February 6, 2015.
“Stereotype Threat Widens Achievement Gap.” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, 15 July 2006, www.apa.org/research/action/stereotype.aspx.
