According to tokenism theory, “tokens” (those who comprise less than 15% of a group’s total) are expected to experience a variety of hardships in the workplace, such as feelings of heightened visibility, isolation, and limited opportunities for advancement. In the policing literature, most previous studies have defined tokenism narrowly in terms of gender. The current research extends prior research by examining tokenism as a function of gender and race, with an examination of racial/ethnic subgroups. Particular attention is paid to Latino officers as this study represents the first known study of tokenism and Latino police officers. Quantitative analyses reveal that, for the most part, token police officers do experience the effects of tokenism as predicted by tokenism theory. Although all minorities experienced some level of tokenism, Black males and Black females experienced greater levels of tokenism than Latino officers, suggesting that race is a stronger predictor of tokenism than gender.
ArchboldC.SchulzD. (2008). Making rank: The lingering effects of tokenism on female police officers’ promotion aspirations. Police Quarterly, 11(1), 50-73.
2.
BelknapJ.ShelleyJ. (1992). The new lone ranger: Policewomen on patrol. American Journal of Police, 12, 47-75.
3.
BlalockH. (1967). Toward a theory of minority-group relations. New York, NY: Wiley.
4.
BrownD.FuguittG. (1972). Percent non-White and racial disparity in non-metropolitan cities in the South. Social Science Quarterly, 53, 573-582.
5.
Cognard-BlackA. (2004). Will they stay or will they go? Sex-atypical work among token men who teach. Sociological Quarterly, 45, 113-139.
6.
DeauxK.UllmanJ. (1983). Women of steel. New York, NY: Praeger.
7.
FlogeL.MerrillD. (1986). Tokenism reconsidered: Male nurses and female physicians in a hospital setting. Social Forces, 64, 925-947.
8.
FrisbieW.NeidertL. (1977). Inequality and the relative size of minority populations: A comparative analysis. American Journal of Sociology, 82, 1007-1030.
9.
GerberG. (1996). Status in same-gender and mixed-gender police dyads: Effects on personality attributions. Psychology Quarterly, 59, 350-363.
10.
GruberJ.BjornL. (1982). Blue-collar blues: The sexual harassment of women autoworkers. Work and Occupations, 9, 271-298.
11.
GustafsonJ. L. (2008). Tokenism in policing: An empirical test of Kanter’s hypothesis. Journal of Criminal Justice, 36, 1-10.
12.
HaarrR.MorashM. (1999). Gender, race, and strategies of coping with occupational stress in policing. Justice Quarterly, 16, 303-386.
13.
HammondJ.MahoneyC. (1983). Reward-cost balancing among women coal miners. Sex Roles, 9, 17-29.
14.
HassellK.BrandlS. (2009). An examination of the workplace experiences of police patrol officers: The role of race, sex, and sexual orientation. Police Quarterly, 12, 408-430.
15.
HeikesJ. (1991). When men are the minority: The case of men in nursing. Sociological Quarterly, 32, 389-401.
16.
HickmanM.ReavesB. (2006). Local police departments, 2003. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
17.
IzraeliD. (1983). Sex effects or structural effects? An empirical test of Kanter’s theory of proportions. Social Forces, 62, 153-165.
18.
JacksonP.ThoitsP.TaylorH. (1995). Composition of the workplace and psychological well-being: The effects of tokenism on America’s Black elite. Social Forces, 74, 543-557.
19.
KadushinA. (1976). Men in a women’s profession. Social Work, 21, 440-447.
20.
KaneM.StanglJ. (1991). Employment patterns of female coaches in men’s athletics: Tokenism and marginalization as reflections of occupational sex segregation. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 15, 21-41.
21.
KanterR. (1977). Men and women of the corporation. New York, NY: Basic Books.
22.
LawsJ. (1975). The psychology of tokenism: An analysis. Sex Roles, 1, 51-67.
23.
LynessK.ThompsonD. (2000). Climbing the corporate ladder: Do female and male executives follow the same route?Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 86-101.
24.
MartinS. (1979). Policewomen and policewomen: Occupational role dilemmas and choices of female officers. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 7, 314-323.
25.
MartinS. (1980). “Breaking and entering”: Policewomen on patrol. Berkley: University of California Press.
26.
MartinS. (1990). On the move: The status of women in policing. Washington, DC: Police Foundation.
27.
MartinS. (1994). “Outsider within” the station house: The impact of race and gender on Black women police. Social Problems, 41, 383-399.
28.
MartinS. (1995). The interactive effects of race and sex on women police officers. In PriceB.SokoloffN. (Eds.), The criminal justice system and women offenders, victims, and workers (2nd ed., pp. 383-397). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
29.
MorashM.HaarrR. (1995). Gender, workplace problems, and stress in policing. Justice Quarterly, 12, 113-140.
30.
OttE. (1989). Effects of the male–female ratio at work: Policewomen and male nurses. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 13, 41-57.
31.
RothL. (2004). The social psychology of tokenism: Status and homophily processes on Wall Street. Sociological Perspectives, 47, 189-214.
32.
SchreiberC. (1979). Men and women in transitional occupations. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
33.
SeifertK. (1973). Some problems of men in child care center work. Child Welfare, 52, 167-171.
34.
ShacharO. (2000). Spotlighting women scientists in the press: Tokenism in science journalism. Public Understanding of Science, 9, 347-358.
35.
SouthS.BonjeanC.MarkhamW.CordnerJ. (1982). Social structure and intergroup interaction: Men and women of the federal bureaucracy. American Sociological Review, 47, 587-599.
36.
StichmanA.HassellK.ArchboldC. (2010). Strength in numbers? A test of Kanter’s theory of tokenism. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38, 633-639.
YoderJ. (1994). Looking beyond the numbers: The effects of gender status, job prestige, and occupational gender-typing on the tokenism processes. Social Psychology Quarterly, 57, 150-159.
44.
YoderJ.AniakudoP.BerendsenL. (1996). Looking beyond gender: The effects of racial differences on tokenism perceptions of women. Sex Roles, 35, 389-400.
45.
YoderJ.BerendsenL. (2001). “Outsider within” the firehouse: African American and White women firefighters. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 25, 27-36.
46.
YoderJ.CrumptonP.ZippJ. (1989). The power of numbers in influencing hiring decisions. Gender and Society, 3, 269-276.
47.
YoderJ.SinnettL. (1985). Is it all in the numbers? A case study of tokenism. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 9, 413-418.
