This month is Asian Heritage Month (Canada) and Asian American Pacific Islander Native Hawaiian Month (United States).

In my last blog post, I shared a background as to why this month is so important. In this blog post, I’ll share tips on what you can do as a DEI professional, as a colleague, as a team leader, and as a friend. If you’re part of this group, I encourage you to share this blog to help elevate the awareness and the importance of this topic and to share your lived experience.

In my coaching practice, I see that what Asian women learn at home and is reinforced by their families is at odds with North American corporate culture. As I mentioned last week, “Asian” is a massive label that describes a LOT of people, and goes without saying that each group has unique perspectives and needs that deserve to be addressed and included in workplace DEI strategies. Many Asian women struggle to interrupt, struggle to challenge the way things are done, and struggle with self-promotion - all things that are accepted as normal and expected behavior in corporate culture.

“I do think that my cultural upbringing makes it more difficult to feel comfortable advocating for myself. It’s a confidence issue—I’m almost afraid that I’ll get fired.” - South Asian woman, 30s, immigrant as a child, software engineer

If this resonated for you, check out the Complete Guide to Self Promotion at the bottom of this post for tips for authentic self-promotion.

So, what can DEI professionals and leaders do to help make the world 1% better for Asian women? (From Feminuity and the Coqual Report)

Audit: Assess where your organization stands today.

Assess your organization and understand the demographics of your workforce. You can learn a lot from statistics about representation, recruitment, turnover, retention, and advancement of various employee groups. Statistics also show the size of the untapped talent pool in your organization.

Awaken: Share audit results.

Share audit results with leaders and employees. Educate managers on the racism to which A/AA/PI employees are subjected and on how to actively include them - don't leave that work to the employees experiencing racism and exclusion.

Act: Facilitate ways for career advancement as well as ways to provide more inclusive cultures.

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are critical community spaces, but are often led by volunteers who are at risk of burnout. When I speak to these leaders, they’re often incredibly taxed, and it’s difficult for them to excel at both their careers and leading these groups. Leading ERGs is a lot of work, but it’s often not considered a “promotable task.”

If you’re in this position, here are some ways to have your work recognized, suggest splitting up the workload, or to say no if leading an ERG isn’t for you. And for DEI professionals, by compensating ERG leaders and giving them dedicated work time, you can quickly address this challenge and improve ERG efficacy.

Another way to act is through partnering with community-based organizations. Companies can provide community-based organizations with financial support, and in exchange, community leaders can educate and guide company leaders to better support A/AA/PI employees.

Challenge the Model Minority Myth and disaggregate the data.

The model minority myth plays a large role in excusing and causing much of the racism that Asian people face, especially in the workplace. Many DEI efforts ignore Asian people, incorrectly assuming that they don’t need support, and overlooking the diversity within the Asian community. We must be intentional about including Asian people in our DEI work and make intentional efforts to tackle the violence and discrimination resulting from the current political situation and the pandemic. Check on the health of DEI strategies and how they impact A/AA/PI employees.

"Just seeing someone like me in a higher position within the company [would] mean that it's possible. Right now, I don't see anybody. It makes it feel like an impossible ladder to climb." - Guamanian professional

Stress intersectionality.

We mentioned it in Part 1 of this blog, but we can’t stress it enough: there isn’t a single “Asian” experience. Seek out the perspectives of Black Asians, Muslim Asians, Indigenous Asians, Latine Asians, Asians with disabilities, Trans Asians, and beyond!

Beware of reverse ageism.

Many Asians are thought to be inexperienced based on how they look. Even if their resume proves their experience, both men and women of Asian descent struggle with gaining promotions or getting higher level jobs because they look “too young.” Be intentional with your hiring decisions and be conscious of these biases when hiring and promoting.

“As a consultant, my lived experience is mostly around not being taken seriously/viewed as being inexperienced. Mostly because as an Asian, we tend to "age better" and look relatively babyfaced (facial hair doesn't help since most Asians can only grow the mustache + goatee and it just makes them look unkept rather than "seasoned"). Chinese/Korean/Japanese Asians are also stereotypically viewed as being book smart but not street smart/creative - probably also another reason why we're under-represented in senior level roles vs. our south Asian counterparts or others.” - Chin Chang, Executive Consultant

Promote sponsorship.

As per the report from Catalyst, Asian women report the lack of key relationships as a barrier to their progress. For example, they are the least likely of any racial group to have sponsors. Offering programs such as The Art of Sponsorship will help to support this group of employees and the executives that lead them.

Another way to promote career advancement for underrepresented groups is through company-sponsored programs. I facilitate a leadership program for one of the biggest tech firms in the world. Each cohort is for a specific underrepresented group, there’s a cohort for black, Asian, and Latinx groups to address their specific needs and issues in the workplace.

So, I hope that I started to answer the question that I posed at the beginning of this blog. For those of you looking to find out more about how to create workplaces that actively confront anti-Asian biases, include Asian team members in DEI efforts, and empower the Asian diaspora to become fearless leaders, click here.

“Working with Salima has helped me understand my unconscious beliefs about myself, and most importantly, my driving purpose and vision… Although I wasn't specifically looking for a coach who was also a woman of colour, Salima's unspoken understanding of my lived experience, influences to my self-limiting beliefs and external/systemic barriers to career success were essential. Salima's coaching expertise is undoubtedly advantageous to any person looking to develop their career and leadership potential; however, I think for women of colour, her coaching is invaluable.” - Thanya Duvage

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