Some Effects of Proportions on Group Life: Skewed Sex Ratios and Responses to Token Women

TLDR

Proportions of socially and culturally different people shape group interaction dynamics, with skewed groups dominated by a majority type and a minority token type. The study develops a framework to conceptualize interactions between dominants and tokens, extends it to all token types, and identifies future research questions. The framework is illustrated through a field study in a large industrial corporation. Tokens exhibit visibility, polarization, and assimilation, which generate performance pressures, reinforce dominants’ group boundaries, and trap tokens in their roles.

Abstract

Proportions, that is, relative numbers of socially and culturally different people in a group, are seen as critical in shaping interaction dinamics, and four group types are identified in the basis of varying proportional compositions. "Skewed" groups contain a large preponderance of one type (the numerical "dominants") over another (the rare "tokens"). A framework is developed for conceptualizing the processes that occur between dominants and tokens. Three perceptual phenomena are associated with tokens: visibility (tokens capture a disproportionate awareness share), polarization (differences between tokens and dominants are exaggerated), and assimilation (tokens' attributes are distorted to fit preexisting generalizations about their social type). Visibility generates performance pressures; polarization leads dominants to heighten their group boundaries; and assimilation leads to the tokens' role entrapment. Illustrations are drawn from a field study in a large industrial corporation. Concepts are extended to tokens of all kinds, and research issues are identified.