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The Leadership Experiences of Asian Americans
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Although the number of Asian American professionals has continued to increase significantly in the United States, their underrepresentation in leadership roles remains. Given the absence of literature in this area, this article presents a qualitative study on 14 Asian American leaders in order to understand their perceptions and experiences in attaining and performing in leadership roles. Semistructured interviews were conducted, and themes were then garnered from them. Major themes identified included the influence of common Asian values, having to negotiate multiple identities, leading in response to the urging of others, using a group orientation and collaborative style, having a strong work ethic, emphasis on excellence, having to respond to stereotypic perceptions and expectations, and the importance of support and mentoring. Although participants were unique in their experiences, salient aspects across participants emerged showing that they were influenced by their identification as Asian Americans. These qualitative findings generate hypotheses about Asian American leadership that warrant further investigation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)
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... Asian American women academics experience intersectional oppression. Stereotypes of Asian American women include being passive, subservient, sexually compliant, and exotic (Kawahara et al., 2013). These stereotypes conflict with the dominant American view of leadership (Kawahara et al., 2007), creating further barriers to promotion and leadership opportunities. ...
... Incidents of Anti-Asian American Racism Experienced by the Authors, Colleagues, and Other Asian American Women Academics threat in Asian American women. First, Asian American women are stereotypically represented as a nameless and faceless monolithic group; perceived as submissive, lacking in leadership qualities and communication skills; penalized for acting assertively; and are excluded from diversity initiatives (Chen, 2021;Kawahara et al., 2013;Kawahara et al., 2007;Gee & Peck, 2018). Second, Asian American women scientists experience greater gender bias regarding perceived lack of competence than White women, greater workplace pressures to fulfill traditionally feminine roles, and greater backlash if they deviate from these traditional roles, as compared to women of other racial and ethnic backgrounds (Williams et al., 2014). ...
... Collectivistic notions shared by many AAPI subgroups include beliefs that one should accept rather than confront problems, avoid disclosing problems to save face, and maintain interpersonal relationships to preserve social harmony (Inman & Yeh, 2007;Tweed & Conway, 2006). Caring for other colleagues, preserving group interests, and maintaining harmony may be misinterpreted in Western societies as docile, weak, and passive characteristics that position AAPI faculty as unworthy of promotion, career advancement, or leadership (Chin, 2013;Kawahara et al., 2013;Mouton et al., 2020). AAPI counselor educators may therefore become forced to abandon cultural notions that endorse subtle, harmonious, and community-oriented responses in favor of individualistic values that have historically characterized White academia (F. ...
... Counselor educators and department leaders are called to examine how the model minority discourse, bamboo ceiling, and Eurocentric notions of success in academe discount the experiences, challenges, and accomplishments of AAPI faculty. Counselor education department members who recognize how systemic, institutional, and cultural barriers deny the cultural capital of AAPI faculty (Hyun, 2005;Kawahara et al., 2013;F. Lee, 2019) are better positioned to advocate on behalf of their AAPI colleagues. ...
Asian counselor educators in predominantly White institutions face challenges that are not shared by their White colleagues or by other faculty of color. This article outlines the barriers for Asian counselor educators and establishes a call to action for researchers to act in ways that support Asian faculty retention and success.
... In the engineering field, many Asian Americans are successful, but few are seen in higher levels of leadership (Zhou & Lee, 2017). Despite the high levels of education that Asian Americans have, there is a great under-representation in upper management and executive leadership (Kawahara et al., 2013). In the accounting industry, low Asian/Pacific Islander advancement to leadership was found to be associated with higher values of respect for authority, collectivism, self-restraint, humility, and educational or occupational ...
With a sample of 473 Filipino Americans in 35 states in the United States, this quantitative study was designed to investigate factors which surround Filipino Americans’ glass ceiling challenges in attaining higher-level positions in the workplace. The investigation explored the related variables, including years of management experience, adherence to two dimensions of Filipino cultural values (interpersonal norms and conservatism), and assertiveness. Years of living in the United States, geographic location, and generational levels were also examined. The study revealed a statistically significant negative relationship between assertiveness and the interpersonal norms dimension of the Filipino culture. Findings revealed specific Filipino cultural traits which conflict with assertiveness. Results from the current study can be used for the development of assertiveness training for Filipino Americans who desire to advance in the workplace.
... In the engineering field, many Asian Americans are successful, but few are seen in higher levels of leadership (Zhou & Lee, 2017). Despite the high levels of education that Asian Americans have, there is a great under-representation in upper management and executive leadership (Kawahara et al., 2013). In the accounting industry, low Asian/Pacific Islander advancement to leadership was found to be associated with higher values of respect for authority, collectivism, self-restraint, humility, and educational or occupational ...
With a sample of 473 Filipino Americans in 35 states in the United States, this quantitative study was designed to investigate factors which surround Filipino Americans’ glass ceiling challenges in attaining higher-level positions in the workplace. The investigation explored the related variables, including years of management experience, adherence to two dimensions of Filipino cultural values (interpersonal norms and conservatism), and assertiveness. Years of living in the United States, geographic location, and generational levels were also examined. The study revealed a statistically significant negative relationship between assertiveness and the interpersonal norms dimension of the Filipino culture. Findings revealed specific Filipino cultural traits which conflict with assertiveness. Results from the current study can be used for the development of assertiveness training for Filipino Americans who desire to advance in the workplace.
... Recruiters and managers may, therefore, not consider ethnic minorities as prototypical leaders in their country (Eagly & Chin, 2010;Kawahara et al., 2013;Lee & Williams, 2017;Rosette et al., 2008), thereby explaining ethnic discrimination for leadership positions. Indeed, prior research indicates that people sometimes consider ethnic minorities as lacking leadership and interpersonal skills (Craig & Feasel, 1998;McCray et al., 2007;Ospina & Foldy, 2009;Rosette et al., 2008). ...
We conducted a field experiment to analyze if there is a glass ceiling for ethnic minorities entering leadership positions in organizations. We submitted over 12,000 job applications, to over 4,000 job advertisements, to investigate hiring discrimination against six ethnic groups for leadership positions. Drawing on implicit leadership theory, we argue that ethnic discrimination is particularly pronounced in the recruitment of leadership positions. The results confirm this hypothesis. For leadership positions, applicants with English names received 26.8% of positive responses for their job applications, while applicants with non-English names received 11.3% of positive responses. This means ethnic minorities received 57.4% fewer positive responses than applicants with English names for leadership positions despite identical resumes. For non-leadership positions, applicants with English names received 21.2% of positive responses for their job applications, while applicants with non-English names received 11.6% of positive responses. This means ethnic minorities received 45.3% fewer positive responses for non-leadership positions despite identical resumes. Ethnic discrimination for leadership positions was even more pronounced when the advertised job required customer contact. In contrast, hiring discrimination for leadership positions was not significantly influenced by whether the job advertisement emphasized individualism or learning, creativity, and innovation. Our findings provide novel evidence of a glass ceiling for ethnic minorities to enter leadership positions.
... Similarly, discriminations such as "bamboo ceiling" (akin to the glass ceiling for women, where Asian American workers in organizations are not promoted to leadership ranks) also represents another strand of research on how societal attitudes toward Asian Americans shape their vocational experiences (Path 14; Kawahara et al., 2013). These include evidences suggesting the significant association between racial discrimination and mental health outcome, mediated by family conflict (Cheng et al., 2015). ...
Model minority stereotypes of Asian Americans as high educational and occupational achievers are perpetuated by conceptual and methodological issues in career development research that aggregate across Asian ethnicities and oversample high achievers. These issues render those marginalized, such as working-class immigrants with limited English proficiency, as well as their children, as invisible within research, practice, and policy. A new theoretical framework, entitled the Asian American Intergenerational Model of Psychology of Working (AAIM), questions the mainstream career development assumptions of linearity, stability, and upward mobility that reveal inherent classism. Building on the Psychology of Working Theory (Duffy et al., 2016); the AAIM broadens the scope and definition of work beyond career, and acknowledges the significance of structural and cultural forces on people's work and life. An expanded qualitative analysis of interviews with 17 low-income, working-class, Chinese immigrant parents (Tu et al., 2019) provides an empirical illustration of the intergenerational and coethnic dynamics of vocational experiences central to the AAIM. The working-class immigrants relied on coethnic networks to secure employment within a narrow range of options, many straddling helplessly between arduous manual labor and family demands. Though they had immigrated primarily to provide a better future for their children, many parents struggled to participate meaningfully in their children's development. These findings highlight the need to expand Asian American psychology of working to incorporate systems and social justice perspectives. Research, practice, and policy implications of AAIM advocate for maximal inclusivity and offer directions to address invisibility of the most marginalized and disenfranchised Asian American workers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
... Regarding leadership positions, it might be that cultural minorities suffer less discrimination because they have already proven through their work experience that they can work productively and integrate themselves successfully in the majority's culture. However, based on research on leadership prototypes (House et al., 2004), the cultural minorities' appearance and personality may not be congruent with what many majority group members see as a prototypical leader in their country (Eagly & Chin, 2010;Kawahara, Pal, & Chin, 2013;Lee & Williams, 2017), thereby explaining potential ethnic discrimination specifically for leadership positions. Different predictions are also possible for ethnic discrimination in recruitment regarding high-skilled jobs. ...
Cultural minorities often suffer from ethnic discrimination in recruitment. To measure ethnic discrimination accurately, researchers have shifted from interviews, survey studies, and statistical salary comparisons to resume studies. To conduct a resume study, researchers send out similar, paired resumes in response to job advertisements and vary the names to indicate a membership to different ethnic groups. Previous resume studies have found that ethnic discrimination in recruitment is a common problem across different countries. However, previous research reported large discrimination differences across studies. Not much is known about boundary conditions and moderators of ethnic discrimination in recruitment. To create the theoretical basis for future research, we expand on previous research and reviews by elucidating when ethnic discrimination is likely to occur and how it can be reduced. We also provide insight into how resume study research can contribute to identifying the causes and mechanisms of ethnic discrimination. For this purpose, we develop a contingency perspective based on a literature review and explain how ethnic discrimination depends on the characteristics of the: 1) applicant, 2) job, 3) recruiter, 4) hiring organization, 5) country, and 6) ethnic group. Further, we explain that ethnic discrimination can be reduced by using anonymous resumes, adding information on job applicants, “whitening” resumes, including volunteer work in resumes, and conducting intervention studies. Lastly, we provide a rich agenda, and present thought-provoking topics for future research.
Racial diversity in higher education leadership has been slow to cultivate and keep pace with demographic changes. Even though there are numerous ways to examine this elusive problem, higher education scholarship has not studied how faculty of Color construct a leader identity. Using an interpretative phenomenological analytical approach, this qualitative exploratory study examines how 31 newly tenured faculty of Color participants from three different research-intensive, Midwestern, public institutions construct a leader identity. Using DeRue and Ashford’s (2010) leader identity theory as an analytical framework to view the everyday experiences of faculty of Color, results are presented through three different levels of social analysis: (a) intrapersonal reflections, (b) interpersonal interactions, and (c) organizational acknowledgments. Results indicate leader identity is catalyzed from: (a) racial community inspiration, (b) career aspiration, (c) explicit encouragement, (d) interdisciplinary organizational structures, and (e) diversity advocacy. On the other hand, leader identity is inhibited by: (a) researcher and leader identity conflict, (b) lack of preparation, (c) implicit signaling, (d) tokenization withdraw, (e) ambiguous collective endorsement, and (f) formal leader denial. Implications for theory, practice, and future research are discussed.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the leadership development of Korean American youth who participated in a community-based participatory action research program designed to assist community members affected by COVID-19. Participants were drawn from a small town in the southeastern part of the U.S. Using a case study approach, multiple qualitative data (e.g., focus group conversations) and quantitative survey data were collected to explore the learning experiences of 15 Korean American adolescents. Qualitative data was analyzed following the six steps of thematic analysis, and descriptive statistics were performed to analyze quantitative data. Findings suggest that the program provided authentic learning opportunities in which participants researched the needs of community members and implemented action plans to help them. The program also helped participants improve communication skills and broaden their leadership perspectives. However, participants’ perceived leadership development differed depending on their self-identified ethnic identity, and those students who lacked Korean language abilities demonstrated difficulties in collaborating with fluent Korean-speaking peers in bilingual learning environments. This study addresses gaps in the youth development literature by describing how a community-based approach and culturally relevant practice can help Asian American youth develop leadership and inspire them to be change agents in their communities.
The inclusion of cultural minorities as senior leaders is of growing importance and relevance to contemporary organizations with increasingly international composition, but much is to be learned about how and when such leaders impact the workplaces they lead. We draw on the “cultural difference” and “cultural congruence” propositions (Dorfman and House, 2004) to build a model for understanding whether and under what conditions cultural minority senior leaders have an impact on the elaboration of task-relevant information and relationship conflict in their workplaces. Hierarchical regression results from a study of 315 Australian workplaces and their senior leaders suggest that, regardless of whether the senior leader is a member of a cultural minority group, an organizational climate for innovation and flexibility increases information elaboration – an effect that is stronger when the organization faces greater environmental turbulence. The results further provide support for a three-way interaction effect, whereby employees in workplaces led by a cultural minority leader have less relationship conflict when climate for innovation and environmental turbulence are both low. We conclude with a discussion of the scholarly contributions and practical implications of our conceptual and empirical work, the limitations of our study, and future directions for this research.
Leadership research is often silent about how race and ethnicity influence the exercise of leadership and does not include the experiences of racial/ethnic minority leaders. Leaders from five racial/ethnic groups within the U.S. were surveyed on their endorsement of leadership dimensions as defined by the GLOBE studies and the influence of their race, ethnicity and gender on the exercise of leadership in this exploratory study. While all leaders endorsed common leadership dimensions, cultural variation emerged on a factor consistent with a humane orientation and collaborative leadership style. Leaders of color and women leaders strongly embraced their ethnic and gender identities compared with White male leaders. These social identities together with lived experiences associated with minority status were perceived as influencing their exercise of leadership, presenting both challenges and strengths. Differences in the leadership profile of this diverse leadership sample with the Anglo group in the GLOBE studies suggest the importance of examining diversity in leadership. Conceptualizations of leadership need to be inclusive of the social identities and lived experiences that leaders and followers both bring to the contexts of leadership.
Multicultural researchers and theorists have noted that client adherence to culture-of-origin values plays an important role in the provision of culturally relevant and sensitive psychological services. However, lack of instruments that measure ethnic cultural values has been a shortcoming in past research that attempted to examine this relationship. In this article, the development of the Asian Values Scale (AVS) is described, and the results of 4 studies investigating the psychometric properties of the AVS are reported. The results indicate that the AVS has adequate internal and 2-week test–retest reliability. Also, factor analysis and comparisons of AVS scores to scores on the Individualism–Collectivism scale (H. Triandis, 1995) and the Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale (R. M. Sunn, K. Rickard-Figueroa, S. Lew & P. Vigil, 1987) provided evidence of convergent and divergent validity for the AVS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Asian American managers report using significantly lower levels of self-disclosure, self-focused impression management tactics, and supervisor-focused impression management tactics but more job-focused impression management tactics compared to European American managers. Asian Americans appear to use tactics that do not impress supervisors and do not make enough use of tactics that might pay off in improved supervisor-subordinate relationships and upward mobility. Further, supervisors are not impressed by the tactics Asian Americans believe they are using to impress their supervisors. Asian American managers' perceptions of the quality of supervisor-subordinate relationships are not in harmony with supervisors' perceptions of these relationships. European American managers seem to be in tune with their supervisors' perceptions of the quality of the relationship and the impression management tactics they report. If upward mobility is enhanced by good supervisor-subordinate relationships, this impression management gap may help explain why so few Asian American managers attain leadership positions.
This paper attempts to explore the intersection of Asian American culture and gender on leadership. This qualitative study examined the lives of two Asian American women leaders, building on a previous study conducted by Kawahara, Esnil, and Hsu (in press). Six themes from the previous study are found as well as two new themes which emerged from the two interviews. Limitations of current psychological theories on intersecting identities are discussed.
Asian American managers report using significantly lower levels of self-disclosure, selffocused impression management tactics, and supervisor-focused impression management tactics but more job-focused impression management tactics compared to EuropeanAmerican managers. AsianAmericans appear to use tactics that do not impress supervisors and do not make enough use of tactics that might pay off in improved supervisorsubordinate relationships and upward mobility. Further, supervisors are not impressed by the tactics Asian Americans believe they are using to impress their supervisors. Asian American managers’ perceptions of the quality of supervisor-subordinate relationships are not in harmony with supervisors’perceptions of these relationships. European American managers seem to be in tune with their supervisors’ perceptions of the quality of the relationship and the impression management tactics they report. If upward mobility is enhanced by good supervisor-subordinate relationships, this impression management gap may help explain why so fewAsian American managers attain leadership positions.
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Self-reported parental values and child-rearing practices, and teacher-reported and observed children’s social skills, were compared among families of 40 preschool and kindergarten children in each of three cultural groups: Chinese in Taiwan, first-generation Chinese in the United States, and European Americans in the United States. As expected, both samples of Chinese parents more strongly endorsed traditional Chinese values and exerted more parental control over their children than did American parents. Observations of child social competence during a videotaped family interaction revealed no significant differences among the three ethnic groups. Ratings of parental directiveness and warmth during the videotaped family interaction showed that Chinese American parents, as compared to European American parents, were rated as significantly more directive but equally warm.