ABSTRACT
Tokenism means considering the individuals or groups who are members of a minority or who are thought to have a disadvantageous feature not as individuals in society or business life but simply as representatives of the social categories to which they belong and evaluating these people in terms of stereotypes. According to theory, individuals or groups that make up 15% or less of the people in a workplace are referred to as tokens, and group members that make up 85% or more of the people at a workplace are referred to as tokenists. This study attempts to determine whether disabled individuals working in the public sector have experienced the negative consequences of tokenism and whether these individuals may also have been considered as tokens. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 disabled personnel working in the public sector. The study evaluates the data obtained from the interviews using the qualitative analysis method, and the analysis results were visualized using the qualitative analysis program MAXQDA Pro 2020. As a result of the research, disabled individuals working in the public sector are seen to have experienced heightened boundaries, performance pressure, and role struggle, which have been expressed as negative consequences of tokenism. The findings obtained from the research show that disabled individuals working in the public sector may also be considered as tokens.