Translation guide
The practice of making only a symbolic effort to include members of minority groups, without giving them real power or influence.
To describe a situation where someone from a minority group is included only to give the appearance of equality, not to provide genuine opportunity.
Literally 'participation in form only'. A clear and natural way to express tokenism in Japanese.
His role was just tokenism.
Means 'decoration' or 'figurehead'. Used for a person who is included just for show, without real authority.
Means 'in name only'. Can modify a role or position to indicate tokenism.
He is a department head in name only.
Direct loanword from English. Understood in academic or activist contexts, but not common in everyday speech.
There is no single Japanese word that perfectly matches 'tokenism'. Using the loanword トークニズム may not be understood by all audiences. It's better to explain the concept with phrases like 形だけの参加 or お飾り.
彼女は会議でお飾りに過ぎない。
She's nothing more than a token at the meeting.
This policy was criticized as mere tokenism.