LIVING IN A MAN'S WORLD: A STUDY OF TOKENISM AND FEMALE ENTRANCE INTO LEHIGH UNIVERSITY

Abstract The following analysis studies the first four years of undergraduate coeducation at Lehigh University. Using Rosabeth Kanter's (1977) theory of tokenism, I prove three main points related to women's experience at Lehigh University. First, tokenism was an essential part of the female experience at Lehigh University. Second, women directly served this role through enhancing the University status and social life of its male students. Third, increased female admission to Lehigh University would be the best means to dismantle gender tokenism on campus. My research uses a qualitative design that derives data from several official Lehigh University sources in addition to a small number of in-depth interviews.