If you're Asian in America, you probably grew up
with the idea that I had to be successful in a particular way. That we would have access to money for like
extracurricular activities or prep classes. We were supposed to be more well off and wealthier. Women in particular, that we're easily dominated. Really good at math and science. You don't cause trouble. But we're also seen as individuals that are not
allowed to have mental health or career challenges or even setbacks. Many of these ideas are because of the model
minority myth, a set of assumptions about Asian-American achievement and behavior that have
held Asian-Americans back from equal opportunity in academia, the work force and necessary government
welfare. So how does the perception of overachievement leave
Asian-Americans out of important equity conversations and suppress their potential growth? Here's how the model minority myth is suppressing
Asian-Americans from reaching their full potential. For many years, anti-Asian biases and
discrimination have largely gone unacknowledged until now, as the nation takes a closer look at the
origins of discrimination in a climate of racial reckonings and increased violence. In recent years, Asian representation among college
students and in executive leadership has come under scrutiny. In corporate America, Asian-Americans are the most
likely to be hired into white collar jobs, but least likely promoted in the management. According to studies, nearly 60 percent of
Asian-Americans go to college after school. They make up 13 percent of working professionals,
but just six percent of executive leadership, Generally Asian-Americans are perceived as smart,
hardworking, easy to manage employees. Problem with that model is that we're also seen as
good workers, but not great leaders. Experts say the inability to rise through the ranks
isn't due to a lack of ambition or work ethic, but rather a combination of cultural and societal
stigma. In America, what we look for is bulls and risk
taking leaders, and those are culturally incompatible with what you see in China and Japan. And so those people brought up with those beliefs
are perceived as non-leadership material here in the United States. So is the career suppression of Asian-Americans a
hidden form of racism? If not, why exactly have Asian-Americans been
underrepresented in management roles? And what can we do about it? We can't be lost in the fact that Asian-Americans
also need a lot of help the D&I movement within companies is happening. But also I think it is no longer about just
celebration of cultural holidays and things like that, it's really about what are we going to do to
address the inequities and promotions, for instance, and in the rise to executive leadership, The model minority myth was first coined in the
1960s in reference to Asian-Americans being seen as a superior immigrant group in America. A construct to say, "We are model minority because
we are obedient, we are submissive, we are successful in assimilating into American culture,
and therefore we are the model." These assumptions have proliferated, becoming common
stereotypes in the media and at the highest echelons of society. It essentially embraces the struggles and hardships
and discrimination and racism that we persistently face in the Asian-American experience. In one highly publicized case, Harvard admissions
officers had used recurring characterizations for Asian-American applicants such as quiet, shy,
science, math-oriented and hard workers. Harvard responded, stating race is one of many
factors considered when reviewing applications, and ultimately it was ruled that their admissions
process met constitutional requirements. I remember being happy about being described as a
white-washed. I wasn't very likely engaged and motivated by
school, like by a lot of my classes, especially in early high school and middle school. I was embarrassed as a kid to be Asian and I was
embarrassed of my monolith, my nose, the food I ate. My math teacher, she was handing out one of the
quizzes that we took the week prior and I ended up getting a C- on it It places this invisible gap of who we can be and
how we can act. I almost flunked out and they didn't have an answer
for that. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Isn't it in
your genes to be good at math?" And I was just completely shocked. I didn't know what to say Because they're like, well, why wouldn't you just
want to achieve? In addition to how racial stereotyping can be
damaging, grouping any ethnic minority based on their assumed achievements and character traits
inherently compares one group negatively to another It was really a concept created to be a wedge during
the civil rights movement between different minority races. A way to discredit the claims of African-Americans
who were seeking. Racial and economic justice and demanding massive
structural overhauls in American society After World War Two, Asian-Americans felt the need
to become model citizens to convince mainly white people that they belonged in the U.S.. Asian immigrants and their children were thought to
be dangerous, threatening to American society. Asians worked very hard to convince other Americans
that they were worthy of belonging here in the United States; they were worthy of having a future
and they deserve the same kinds of life chances and opportunities as White people. Essentially, as Asian American college enrollment
and workforce presence has expanded. It's also been assumed that they hold the most
wealth among minority groups, but experts say this assumption has played a critical role in neglecting
Asian subgroups that earn some of the lowest household incomes in America. And the lowest rung on the poverty ladder happens to
be Asian. And that is a fact that is widely ignored. For instance, the Hmong, Bhutanese, Burmese and
Nepali populations have consistently had poverty rates higher than the U.S. average, with median household incomes reported
below forty thousand dollars. We didn't all grow up with a silver spoon. Some of us grew up in the trailer houses with no
hot water, just like my story. And we grew up around gang violence, just like my
story. By grouping all the Asian-Americans together and
assuming that all of them will do well just because you've measured them as a group, you end up
ignoring the people who might not fit into that. I think, which have led to policymakers sometimes
just completely overlooking Asian-Americans. Experts say Asian-Americans also face a double glass
ceiling in the corporate sector with a barrier to entry and challenges advancing into leadership
roles. There was this feeling of a lot of judgment from the
executives, my peers, and feeling that I had to fit the mold that they wanted instead of
focusing in on the qualities of the production that I was making. What they're telling us is "you're one of us, but
you're not." I remember there was a client call, and as soon as
they saw me on the call, I could tell that their demeanor changed somehow. I think that they were expecting someone who might
have been White. I don't know the reason why, but I was put off the
project and my White manager ended up taking over that project. You feel like when you're in these rooms that these
tables that you have to present a certain way. And I definitely feel that. There's a gender gap and a race gap. If you are an Asian woman, that not only do you
suffer from the gender gap, but you are also heavily penalized for being Asian. And so in our research, both Asian woman and Black
woman are at the very bottom of the executive parody index. This gap in representation is especially acute at
the highest levels of corporate leadership. Asian-Americans make up an even smaller share of
executives at Fortune 100 companies. Just 2.8 percent are East Asian and four point one
percent are South Asian. And among these 100 companies, only four CEOs are
Asian-American, all of whom are men. I would constantly get overlooked for a promotion, a
title change or even a standard yearly raise. And I would put in the work like no matter how many
hours, how many milestones I hit, it didn't matter. Experts point to several factors that contribute to
lack of advancement, the first being that traditional business leaders aren't thought to be
Asian. They're White, they're male, they're tall. Right? And they don't conform to what we see in the
typical Asian-American leader. Traditional Asian culture often clashes with the
idea of advocating for yourself in the workplace, something rarely taught by immigrant parents and
elders who prioritized assimilating to American culture. It was about working hard. It was about, you know, speaking really good
English so we could assimilate and to understand the culture. But they ceased to become good advisors
right beyond getting good grades in school and getting into a good school, getting into a good
company, Our parents had to do what they had to do, like they
had no other option. And this mentality that they really instilled in us
was will outwork you. We're going to put in the work. Don't underestimate us. And that's what my mom did and that's what I did. The culture behavior is to be tapped on the shoulder
for advancement rather than to aspire to ask for it, because that because asking for it is being
presumptuous and not humble. So if you don't ask for, you don't get it. And that's part of our problem. Under this frame of model minority, we feel like,
well, I need to get someone else to give me permission to do that, or I need to prove to them
that I've already done it in order to get that chance. I didn't have network connections, and when I went
through that path to get to CEO, there was a lot of self doubt. Because of how I was raised and what
I saw, what I didn't see-- having people that looked like me in the senior roles, I would mentor me and
guide me. No one did that for me. Prompted by the Black Lives Matter movement, many
corporations are now investing a lot of money in diversity and inclusion initiatives. But these initiatives may not be enough to fix
career advancement inequities for Asian-Americans. The problem with diversity programs, in particular
for Asian-Americans, is that by and large they're focused on celebratory events like Lunar New Year
or Asian Heritage Month, and they don't really look at the diversity question. Experts say companies need to be more intentional
and proactive in who they hire to lead while creating a culture that sees value in all types of
people. But the first thing that corporate America needs to
do, They need to recognize a problem and recognize are
things they can do about it and then make those I'll call a training opportune development opportunities
available to Asian-Americans. It's our responsibility then to take that opening
and to learn new skills. Companies can have a role in helping society unlearn
harmful narratives that have been perpetuated for decades by providing mentorship opportunities and
encouraging the understanding that leaders and managers don't all have to look and sound the same. They are different leadership styles. And I think being gentle in interpersonal
relationships, it is an example of leadership. I think being loud or advocating for yourself is
not easy for everyone and doesn't mean that they're not good at their job. Prioritizing diversity in media can also help
minorities see themselves in roles they never considered. I think it's extremely important for people growing
up to see themselves represented in executive higher level positions. And especially tells young Asian kids that we can
live outside of these lines that we're set up for you. From a media perspective, tell stories that
are pushing policy and legislation forward, helping groups that maybe haven't don't have the spotlight
on that. Lastly, many members of the Asian-American community
say there's nothing more important than speaking up and sharing your story authentically. We are fighting so hard to have a seat at the table
and we just want to be heard. We want our voices to be heard. Connect with other people, share these kind of
experiences, or we may feel like we're alienated sometimes, but really we're all together in the
same feeling.
