Grapevine’s Post

Tokenism has no place in creating real diversity, equity, and inclusion. It's not just bad for workplace culture—it’s bad for business. When employees are hired or showcased solely to tick a “diversity” box, it’s a hollow gesture that undermines trust and engagement across the organisation. Tokenism doesn’t just affect those who feel tokenised; it can chip away at team morale, retention, and ultimately, your company’s success. (Not to mention, it’s a real dick move.) Diversity without inclusion and equity isn’t diversity at all. This week, we share a story of how tokenism manifests in subtle yet damaging ways—a reminder that real change starts with acknowledging and correcting harmful practices. How is your organisation approaching inclusion? Is it real, or is it just for show? #DEI #WorkplaceCulture *The stories published modify names and identifying details to maintain anonymity. 👩💻 Share your story with us at www.askthegrapevine.com 📸 Follow us on Instagram @askthegrapevine 💼 Connect with our LinkedIn page for more insights 📩 Support our mission at https://shorturl.at/HI468

Liv Wilson

⚙️ Exec Ops Specialist | 🙋🏽♀️ Right Hand Person | ⭐️ Culture Champion

3mo

Thanks for highlighting this. The tokenism is even more emphasised when the rest of the company is predominantly homogenous. I have seen startups and VCs give themselves a proverbial pat on the back for having good gender stats, but if the majority of the women they hire come from the same demographic - look similar, of the same age group, from similar backgrounds and with similar personality traits then it’s actually just exacerbating the overall gender equality problem (and I say this as a privileged white woman) 🙏🏻

Navishkar Rao

Product Engineer | Diversity hire | AI Pragmatist | Mental Health oversharer | Indiehacker

3mo

Nothing leads to feelings of imposter syndrome more than stories like these. It makes you feel like you were hired as a token representative and not your actual skills.

🍇 Paloma Newton

Elita Genetics co-founder & CEO | Vinemaker @Grapevine

3mo

This is so gross.

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