When Visibility Hurts and Helps: How Intersections of Race and Gender Shape Black Professional Men's Experiences With Tokenization

Research shows groups who experience minority status encounter tokenization. Most studies applying token theory to minority groups at work focus on either gendered or racialized processes of tokenization. We offer a different approach by using an intersectional lens to examine how both race and gender work together to shape ways Black professional men experience tokenization when employed in predominantly White male-dominated workplaces. Based on interviews with 42 Black men employed as doctors, lawyers, bankers, or engineers, we conclude that although Black professional men encounter some of the typical negative aspects of tokenization, intersections of race and gender create other important facets that render their token experience somewhat unique and different from their White male, White female, and Black female counterparts.