| Initial theories of tokenism introduced by Kanter (1977) discuss 3 perceptual phenomena of being a proportional rarity (less than 15% of a given population): higher visibility, exaggeration of differences, and stereotypes/generalizations. The current study explored additional effects of tokenism on female engineers working in a traditionally male dominated field. Data was gathered from an employee opinion survey conducted in a high technology government R&D organization. Planned comparison results show female engineers (tokens) (N = 361) are significantly less favorable than male engineers (N = 2,212) and non-token females (secretaries) (N = 61) on four of the seven predicted work environment factors: job satisfaction, involvement and participation, workplace diversity, and working relationships. Data from this and future studies of women employed in occupations where they are proportionately less than the majority (males), may facilitate the design and implementation of organizational programs to combat tokenism and its negative effects. Recommendations for future research are presented. |
