The "Bamboo Ceiling" Is Holding Back Asian American Success

By NILUFAR HALIMOVA and NYROBI PETERS

Many of us have shared a class with a high-achieving Asian American student, someone who gets good grades, works hard, and whom everyone expects to be successful in life. But despite being the group with the highest levels of education, income, and employment in the country, Asian Americans are least likely to receive a promotion at work, and are underrepresented in leadership positions. What is the reason for this so-called “bamboo ceiling”?

It’s not that Asian Americans aren’t ambitious. According to CBS News, “64% of Asians aspire to hold a top job at a company, compared to 52% for Caucasians. Yet only about two percent of Fortune 500 corporate officers are Asian.”

Stereotyping seems to play a large role. The Harvard Business Review researched common stereotypes about Asians and found that many people viewed them as “particularly high on competence (they were seen as successful and intelligent) and low on social skill (nerdy, antisocial).”

Ivy Tran, a senior, said, “People tend to stereotype Asians as quiet individuals who are bystanders to our society’s issues.”

Katie Wells ‘22, who is Asian American, said, “I definitely do think that stereotyping is involved with [the lack of] promotions. Asian Americans are often deemed introverted or shy or quiet, and a lot of people think that they’re only good at math and science.”

Wells feels Asian stereotypes also undermine “the hard work that they put in by saying it’s because of their race that they are smart.”

Mr. Eric Lee, a teacher at Midwood, believes that “stereotyping and discrimination will always be a factor when it comes to getting a promotion for a job,” though this bias could be unintentional, he said.

According to the Harvard Business Review, “stereotypes about Asians being highly competent can make Asians appear threatening in the workplace, and stereotypes about Asians lacking social skills can make them seem unfit for leadership.”

U.S. Department of Labor statistics show that Asian Americans as a whole have the highest levels of college education in the country and that they are likeliest to hold professional jobs. But a report on tech companies in the Bay Area of California by Ascend Pan-Asian Leaders shows that Asian Americans are underrepresented in executive leadership positions there by about 20%, the lowest of any race. Studies of banks have shown the same pattern.

“I think it comes from the deep seated prejudices that lie within all of us, whether we notice or not,” said Aileen Xue, a freshman at Fort Hamilton High School.

Tran said, “It makes life seem unfair when hard work and effort are not reflected.”

A lingering perception of Asian Americans as “foreign” could be a component of the “bamboo ceiling.”

Wells’ mother is a Japanese immigrant. “I feel like people associate immigrants with bad English,” she said, which could make customers go to other workers for help instead. “My mom has lived here for 20 years now, she studied in Boston, and she does have good English speaking skills, but many people automatically assume that she doesn’t because she's Asian,” Wells explained.

Traditional Asian American culture might also be a factor.

Xue said, “From my experience, a lot of Asians are raised to not complain and be complacent in their position and work their way up quietly. That upbringing makes it hard to bring up topics such as promotions and raises. We’re raised to be humble almost to a fault.”

“Asian culture respects the social hierarchy,” Tran explained. It makes Asian Americans less likely to confront their bosses or their colleagues, she said.

Mr. Lee said his personal experience has been different. “I was always taught to brag about my accomplishments, work hard, and try my best to get those promotions,” he said.

It’s not just Asian American parents who have high expectations for their children. Society as a whole often seems to demand more from Asian Americans as well, interviewees said.

Tran feels that her talents may have been overlooked during her college admission process because of her background. “I try hard to build up my grades and extracurriculars, only for it to be overlooked because I am Asian American,” she said.

When the term “glass ceiling” was coined in 1978 to describe the lack of women in business leadership, it began a multi-decade movement to correct this imbalance. Now the work begins for companies to examine their possible biases and put some more cracks in the “bamboo ceiling.”