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Abstract
Existing explanations of tokenism predict similar experiences for all numerically small, low-status groups. These explanations, however, cannot account for variation in the experiences of different low-status minority groups within the same setting. This article develops a theory of tokenism that explains such variation. Drawing on 117 interviews in the leveraged buyout industry (LBO) and a comparison of the differing experiences of female and African American male tokens in that setting, I argue that tokenism is contingent on the local cultural context in which it is embedded. Specifically, I identify two elements of an occupation's culture-its hierarchy of cultural resources and its image of the ideal worker-that can specify some status characteristics as more relevant to and incompatible with the occupation's work than others. In LBO, the industry values cultural resources that, on average, women lack but men possess, and the ideal worker is defined such that it directly conflicts with cultural beliefs about motherhood. Consequently, in this context, gender is a more relevant status characteristic for exclusion than is race, and female tokens are differentially disadvantaged. In addition to revising received wisdom about tokenism, this study integrates and advances social psychological and cultural theories of exclusion by deepening our understanding of the role of cultural resources and schemas in occupational inequality.
Keywords
tokenism, cultural resources, cultural schemas, ideal worker, status-based exclusion
"In LBO, I think you should check ESPN. I just think it's a question of accepting the industry you're in and choosing to be prepared or not. I know nothing about football or basketball, but if it's playoff time, I don't think it's asking too much to read who's in the playoffs and to know the star players. If you look uncomfortable in that setting - when the guys are talking about sports - because you can't follow the banter, then that's when you'll be treated differently." - white, female LBO investor
"It's a tough industry for women. You have to be completely, 100 percent committed to this work. Motherhood just makes that a question mark in my mind." - white, male LBO investor
Sociologists have long demonstrated that tokens - defined as numeric minorities in segregated occupations - often face isolation and obstacles to advancement in the workplace. Scholars explain tokens'...