It’s Not Black and White: Toward a Contingency Perspective on the Consequences of Being a Token

Kanter's (1977) tokenism theory stimulated a flurry of research activity devoted to understanding the experiences of those who are in the numerical minority in their work groups, organizations, or occupations. Society continues to increase the proportion of some demographic groups within organizations, but the notion of tokens continues to be relevant, as many women, men, racial groups, and those who identify with intersecting identities find themselves numerically underrepresented in the workplace. We systematically organize and analyze recent work on the consequences of being a token for women, men, and racial minorities to address challenges and identify opportunities for future research. We highlight gaps and ambiguities to provide clarity and momentum for future research in this area. Further, we identify and propose the consideration of potential measurement, individual, and contextual contingencies that may influence the outcomes of being a token. These critical contingencies shed light on the potential variations in the outcomes associated with being a token.