We discuss what it means to be the token minority in a workplace, and how members of both the minority group and the dominant group can respond. We also get a little sidetracked at the beginning of the episode talking about our experiences being 3rd or 4th generation Asian Canadian, which provides some context for the tokenism discussion in the second half of the episode.

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Timestamps:

0:35 - Summary of episode

1:38 - Emi's introduction of herself and her work

5:21 - Growing up as a racialized person in Canada

10:55 - Comparing the 1st/2nd generation to the 3rd/4th generation Asian Canadian experience

13:01 - Different cultural approaches to having conversations with others

15:37 - Role of culture vs. personality in shaping our thoughts and actions

19:06 - Diversity and 'othering' within Asian communities

26:16 - Responding to research about tokenism

31:06 - Advice for people who feel like they are being tokenized at their workplace

32:38 - Characteristics of effective and ineffective 'cross-cultural trainings'

34:18 - Advice for people who want to help their colleagues who are being tokenized

REFERENCED IN THE EPISODE

Stichman, A.J., Hassell, K.D., and Archbold, C.A. (2010). Strength in numbers? A test of Kanter's theory of tokenism. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38(4), 633-639. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.04.036.

Yoder, J.D. (1991). Rethinking Tokenism: Looking Beyond Numbers. Gender & Society, 5(2), 178-192. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124391005002003

Zimmer, L. (1988). Tokenism and Women in the Workplace: The Limits of Gender-Neutral Theory. Social Problems, 35(1), 64–77.  https://doi.org/10.2307/800667

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