Tokenism Revisited: When Organizational Culture Challenges Masculine Norms, the Experience of Token Is Transformed

Extant research on tokenism has documented the adverse consequences for employees in minority positions and how women's possibility of action is constrained in male-dominated contexts. We present an in-depth qualitative case study of a male-dominated organization in a masculine industry in which, despite all expectations, the experience of tokenism for minority women is ambiguous. Furthermore, these women also display a strong agentic role in an organization in which culture favours gender equality. This case reveals an aspect previously overlooked in studies of tokenism: the importance of organizational culture. By exposing and challenging the implicit masculine norm through its organizational culture, this organization actively engages in the change of gendering processes and contributes to establishing an alternative norm. Theoretical contributions show the impact of normative control on the experience of tokens, and how it provides a frame for action toward gender equality.