Critical Examination of Tokenism and Demands of Organizational Citizenship Behavior Among Faculty Women of Color

Abstract

Women of color in academia are a double minority who face extreme challenges in attaining tenure and promotion. Common challenges faculty of color experience encompass characterization of inferiority, expectations of work products that are often undefined or beyond that of peers, exposure to tokenism, and denial of access to power or authority. Faculty of color are often excessively recruited or assigned to institutional committees and projects because of their minority membership, and are also frequently sought out by students and peers of color for mentoring. These forms of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) often go unnoticed and can be undervalued in promotional proceedings. This chapter critically examines how women of color in academia experience tokenism and how this manifests through unrealistic demands and undervalue of organizational citizenship behavior.