Tokenism
It is a practice of making only perfunctory or symbolic effort to be inclusive to members of a minority group especially by recruiting a small number of people from the under-represented areas in order to give the impression of racial and sexual equality in the workforce.
Diversity
It stands for “the practice or quality of including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc.”
The two significant questions one must ask while differentiating between tokenism and diversity, and analysing politics, pop culture, media along with other deemed ‘era-defining moments through these lens are: first, what could the intentions behind this representation be, second, how does it take into consideration the upliftment of the social status of the minority group in question.
Women in politics: Empowerment or tokenism
Kamala Harris made history as the first woman, first Black American and the first Asian-American to become the Vice-President of the US. Media coverage of her appointment almost overshadowed Joe Biden taking the oath for office. But after less than a year in the post, she has been called the historically unpopular VP. Her diminished public presence has even led a US economist to nickname her “Disappearing Vice-President”. Many argue that the dip in her approval rating (from 50% to 28%) are a natural consequence of the weight of expectations that engulfed her historic nomination.
But is this criticism fair?
Harris’s inner circle feels that she has been consciously sidelined and constantly compared to her white male predecessors.
In an interview with Politico, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary publically accepted, “I do think that there are some attacks that are beyond because of her identity”.
Doesn’t this echo the all- too familiar narrative around the token diverse person who is marginalised by the establishment that initially welcomed it as a symbol of its progressiveness?
In India, it was only after the adoption of the constitution in 1950, that all women could exercise the right to vote. But this didn’t mean that they were given the avenue to be at the forefront of politics. Even today women make up only 13% of the Indian Parliament, while the global average tends to be around 20-25%.
About 25 years since the Women’s Reservation Bill was first introduced in Parliament, it continues to languish as the persisting monolithic patriarchal mindset still compartmentalises women as “beings ruled by emotions rather than logic.
Researchers have found that in low-income Indian households the boys are encouraged to work on leadership skills through the aspects such as sports and public speaking while young girls are often made to skip school and asked to focus on skills that will make them more efficient in household chores.
Even at the university level, presidential, and union roles are often filled by men, as women are conditioned to think that educational efficacy is always superior to ‘dirty politics.
The impression of politics being ‘a dirty game’ is one of the most impending factors that inhibits political female participation, adding to the vicious cycle of hyper masculinity in politics.
The male dominance of the field is also evident in the treatment of the few women politicians we have.
A large-scale study by the Amnesty International Trust on ‘Online abuse faced by women politicians in India exposed that one in every seven tweets about Indian women politicians is abusive, sexist (objectifying them on the basis of their attire), and derogatory
Is there a need to change?
There is growing and established evidence that female participation and leadership in politics impact policy priorities by advancing gender equality and emphasising on improving the quality of life of citizens (through prioritising persistent developments in education and health care). It improves governance by making it more holistic
It is important to educate ourselves about the performativity of tokenism as it helps us question and keep in check the social and political complacent practices that dictate a misconstrued idea of diversity as one being synonymous with equity or equal opportunities.
Picture Credit : Google
