Token Achievement: An Examination of Proportional Representation and Performance Outcomes

Kanter's theory of proportional representation suggests that tokens (members of one social category in a numerical minority) will underachieve relative to dominants (members of a complementary social category in numerical majority). This paper identifies and controls for several factors confounded with the effects of proportional representation on performance outcomes. The grade point averages of male and female college seniors are examined in an academic community into which relatively small numbers of women recently have been introduced. The analysis suggests that the relationship between tokenism and underachievement holds only for low-status tokens among high-status dominants and that a modified definition of relative achievement is needed.