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Why are so few highly qualified and ambitious Asians making it to the top?
Asian-Americans Still Feel Like Outsiders in Corporate America, New Study from the Center for Work-Life Policy Finds
Why are so few highly qualified and ambitious Asians making it to the top?
New York, NY; July 20, 2011 – Despite graduating from top universities at rates that far exceed their peers and forming an important part of the talent pipeline for many professions, AsianAmericans remain largely underrepresented in leadership ranks, according to “Asians in America: Unleashing the Potential of the ‘Model Minority,’” a new study from the Center for Work-Life Policy. The study findings were announced today at Time Warner’s Screening Room in New York City.
Although Asians are a mere 5 percent of the US population, they are one of the fastest growing minority groups and a vital part of the nation’s talent pipeline. Consider, for instance, the representation of Asians at top schools: they account for 15 to 25 percent of Ivy League enrollment, 24 percent at Stanford and a stunning 46 percent at UC Berkeley. At the same time, Asians are fewer than two percent of Fortune 500 CEOs and corporate officers. How can we understand this disparity? According to the study, what keeps Asians from making it to the top are subtle workplace biases that are masked by the general perception of Asians as a highly qualified, successful “model minority”.
Asians in America have long been lauded for their ambition, drive and impressive qualifications, stereotypes that resurfaced in the recent controversy surrounding Amy Chua’s book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. In contrast, Asians in the workplace are often portrayed as unassertive and reticent, lacking in leadership potential in spite of their skills and dedication. The study examines the uneasy place Asians occupy in corporate America. It shows how educated Asians struggle to conform to the dominant leadership model and hit a “bamboo ceiling” that prevents them from breaking into upper management positions. They report difficulties not only in “fitting in” but also in establishing the professional networks and relationships that are essential for advancement. As a result of these challenges, 63 percent of Asian men and 44 percent of Asian women report feeling stalled in their careers. Seeing little chance of fulfilling their ambitions, many highly qualified Asians scale back or have one foot out the door. Corporations need to understand and respond to these workplace realities for Asians, not least in order to stay competitive in the global market. Barbara Adachi, the managing director of Deloitte Consulting LLP’s human capital practice, says, “The Asian community is a very large economic force both inside and outside of the U.S. The more you understand what’s going on globally, and the impact that China and India are having on the world, the more you will recognize the importance of having Asians be part of your organization and leadership team.” The study showcases best practices and innovative programs that allow Asian talent to reach their full potential. The authors, Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Ripa Rashid note that “Fully rounded programs should not only provide development opportunities for Asians, but also target organizational culture so that Asians’ strengths are more readily recognized by those in leadership positions.”
Key Findings
• Asians are more likely than Caucasians to aspire to hold a top job: 64 percent of Asians versus 52 percent for Caucasians.
• Asians are more likely than other groups to value being highly compensated and to place importance on having a powerful position and prestigious title.
• In contrast to the image of the unassertive Asian, the study revealed that Asians are just as likely as other groups to directly ask a manager or supervisor for a pay raise or a promotion.
• Asians are more than three times as likely as Caucasians, and significantly more likely than African-Americans and Hispanics, to scale back at work— reduce their ambitions, work fewer hours, consider quitting, etc.—owing to issues of bias.
• Nearly half of Asian men and women (48%) report that conformity to prevailing leadership models—having to act, look, and sound like the established leaders in their workplace— is a problem.
• Only 28 percent of Asians say they feel very comfortable “being themselves” at work, versus 40 percent of African-Americans, 41 percent of Hispanics and 42 percent of Caucasians.
• Revealing differing communication styles, results from the study show that Asians, particularly Asian women, are less likely than people of other ethnicities to share new ideas or challenge a group consensus in a team meeting
• Fewer than half (46%) of Asians have a mentor in their professional life, making them 15 percent less likely to have a mentor than Caucasians
• Asians are much more likely than Caucasians to have eldercare responsibilities. These range from 9 percent of Asians having elders living with them, to 30 percent providing monetary support to their parents.
• Asians are more likely than Caucasians to report feeling guilty about the tradeoff between their childcare and eldercare responsibilities and their work.
• Only 23 percent of Asian women have off-ramped—voluntarily leaving their jobs for a period of time—versus 32 percent of Caucasian women.
At the event to launch the study, remarks were made by
Barbara Adachi, National Managing Director, Human Capital, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Alex S. Chi, Managing Director, Financial Sponsors Group, Goldman Sachs
Sylvia Ann Hewlett, President, Center for Work-Life Policy
Jane Hyun, President, Hyun & Associates
Peter K. Kim, Corporate Counsel, Pfizer
Sanjay Prasad, Vice President, Financial Planning and Analysis, Time Warner
Lisa Garcia Quiroz, Senior Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Diversity, Time Warner
Ripa Rashid, Executive Vice President, Center for Work-Life Policy
一
一份July 20,2011 发布的调查报告显示，亚裔美国人拥有常春藤盟校学位的比例较大，但当上公司高管的比例低于其他族裔。
纽约非盈利智库工作-生活政策中心(Center for Work-Life Policy)一份报告显示，大约5%的美国居民将自己认定为亚裔，但财富500强公司管理职位中，由亚裔美国人士担任的不到2%。
只有八位亚裔人士目前为财富500强公司一把手，其中包括花旗集团(Citigroup Inc.)的潘伟迪(Vikram Pandit)和雅芳(Avon Products Inc.)的钟彬娴(Andrea Jung)。但亚裔常常是拿着很多人梦寐以求的文凭进入职场的。据全国教育统计中心(National Center for Education Statistics)数据，亚洲人和亚裔美国人占常春藤盟校本科生的16%，占加州大学伯克林分校(University of California at Berkeley)、麻省理工学院(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)和斯坦福大学(Stanford University)本科生的35%。
工作-生活政策中心这份报告调查了2,952人，涵盖所有族裔，包括亚裔美国人（其中一半出生在美国）。报告还包括对受调查者和几家公司的后续访谈，这几家公司正为亚裔员工建立职业发展规划。
报告显示，四分之一的亚裔受访者说，他们在工作中面临着歧视，同时只有4%的白种人相信亚裔人在工作中受到了不公平对待。
报告显示，迄今为止，还很少有公司因为亚裔被视为“模范少数族裔”而为亚裔员工建立职业发展规划。报告作者之一拉希德(Ripa Rashid)说，这次调查揭示了她常从员工和管理者那里听来的一些东西：在美国公司里常常带来成功的那种高调和自夸，亚裔美国人由于文化上的原因并不擅长。拉希德说，他们只管埋头苦干，以为就这样就能做到高层。
调查还显示，亚裔员工可能不擅长跟同事分享个人生活，所以让更多资深同事成为导师和支持者的可能性也就更小。
制药巨头默克公司(Merck & Co.)启动了一个名为“精通文化之艺术”的计划，来帮助亚裔员工改善他们的软技能，比如怎样做演示报告。默克公司的文化多样性负责人达吉特(Deborah Dagit)说，几年前知道自己需要的是一个大胆计划时，我们恍然大悟。2009年年底，默克公司在美国的员工有6%声称自己为亚裔，但在该公司的高管当中，这个族裔只占4%。
从2010年年初开始，基金管理公司联博(AllianceBernstein)让非盈利演说组织Toastmasters来为其亚裔员工举行每月两次的自愿性学习班。联博目前在纽约、圣安东尼奥、得克萨斯和英国都开有Toastmasters的学习班。该公司负责人才管理和多元文化的瓦利亚(Vicki Walia)说，我们不想把它做成一个培训项目，因为培训项目往往是一刀切。企业顾问、《打破竹子天花板》(Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling)一书作者Jane Hyun说，亚裔美国人在工作中面临着十分微妙但又很强大的文化屏障。她说，亚洲有一种说法是最吵的鸭子挨枪子，而在美国则是会哭的孩子有奶吃；这些事情完全相反，相互矛盾。
Jane Hyun帮助默克公司制定了前述计划。她指出，这个计划是否成功，关键在于20名非亚裔高管是否认可。她说，在美国，我们往往以为我们应该简单地用同样的办法对待所有人，但这不一定是应对迥异文化价值观的最佳方法。
KYLE STOCK
Asian-Americans Still Feel Like Outsiders in Corporate America, New Study from the Center for Work-Life Policy Finds
Why are so few highly qualified and ambitious Asians making it to the top?
New York, NY; July 20, 2011 – Despite graduating from top universities at rates that far exceed their peers and forming an important part of the talent pipeline for many professions, AsianAmericans remain largely underrepresented in leadership ranks, according to “Asians in America: Unleashing the Potential of the ‘Model Minority,’” a new study from the Center for Work-Life Policy. The study findings were announced today at Time Warner’s Screening Room in New York City.
Although Asians are a mere 5 percent of the US population, they are one of the fastest growing minority groups and a vital part of the nation’s talent pipeline. Consider, for instance, the representation of Asians at top schools: they account for 15 to 25 percent of Ivy League enrollment, 24 percent at Stanford and a stunning 46 percent at UC Berkeley. At the same time, Asians are fewer than two percent of Fortune 500 CEOs and corporate officers. How can we understand this disparity? According to the study, what keeps Asians from making it to the top are subtle workplace biases that are masked by the general perception of Asians as a highly qualified, successful “model minority”.
Asians in America have long been lauded for their ambition, drive and impressive qualifications, stereotypes that resurfaced in the recent controversy surrounding Amy Chua’s book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. In contrast, Asians in the workplace are often portrayed as unassertive and reticent, lacking in leadership potential in spite of their skills and dedication. The study examines the uneasy place Asians occupy in corporate America. It shows how educated Asians struggle to conform to the dominant leadership model and hit a “bamboo ceiling” that prevents them from breaking into upper management positions. They report difficulties not only in “fitting in” but also in establishing the professional networks and relationships that are essential for advancement. As a result of these challenges, 63 percent of Asian men and 44 percent of Asian women report feeling stalled in their careers. Seeing little chance of fulfilling their ambitions, many highly qualified Asians scale back or have one foot out the door. Corporations need to understand and respond to these workplace realities for Asians, not least in order to stay competitive in the global market. Barbara Adachi, the managing director of Deloitte Consulting LLP’s human capital practice, says, “The Asian community is a very large economic force both inside and outside of the U.S. The more you understand what’s going on globally, and the impact that China and India are having on the world, the more you will recognize the importance of having Asians be part of your organization and leadership team.” The study showcases best practices and innovative programs that allow Asian talent to reach their full potential. The authors, Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Ripa Rashid note that “Fully rounded programs should not only provide development opportunities for Asians, but also target organizational culture so that Asians’ strengths are more readily recognized by those in leadership positions.”
Key Findings
• Asians are more likely than Caucasians to aspire to hold a top job: 64 percent of Asians versus 52 percent for Caucasians.
• Asians are more likely than other groups to value being highly compensated and to place importance on having a powerful position and prestigious title.
• In contrast to the image of the unassertive Asian, the study revealed that Asians are just as likely as other groups to directly ask a manager or supervisor for a pay raise or a promotion.
• Asians are more than three times as likely as Caucasians, and significantly more likely than African-Americans and Hispanics, to scale back at work— reduce their ambitions, work fewer hours, consider quitting, etc.—owing to issues of bias.
• Nearly half of Asian men and women (48%) report that conformity to prevailing leadership models—having to act, look, and sound like the established leaders in their workplace— is a problem.
• Only 28 percent of Asians say they feel very comfortable “being themselves” at work, versus 40 percent of African-Americans, 41 percent of Hispanics and 42 percent of Caucasians.
• Revealing differing communication styles, results from the study show that Asians, particularly Asian women, are less likely than people of other ethnicities to share new ideas or challenge a group consensus in a team meeting
• Fewer than half (46%) of Asians have a mentor in their professional life, making them 15 percent less likely to have a mentor than Caucasians
• Asians are much more likely than Caucasians to have eldercare responsibilities. These range from 9 percent of Asians having elders living with them, to 30 percent providing monetary support to their parents.
• Asians are more likely than Caucasians to report feeling guilty about the tradeoff between their childcare and eldercare responsibilities and their work.
• Only 23 percent of Asian women have off-ramped—voluntarily leaving their jobs for a period of time—versus 32 percent of Caucasian women.
At the event to launch the study, remarks were made by
Barbara Adachi, National Managing Director, Human Capital, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Alex S. Chi, Managing Director, Financial Sponsors Group, Goldman Sachs
Sylvia Ann Hewlett, President, Center for Work-Life Policy
Jane Hyun, President, Hyun & Associates
Peter K. Kim, Corporate Counsel, Pfizer
Sanjay Prasad, Vice President, Financial Planning and Analysis, Time Warner
Lisa Garcia Quiroz, Senior Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Diversity, Time Warner
Ripa Rashid, Executive Vice President, Center for Work-Life Policy
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