On October 16, Asian women from all walks of life gathered at Boston University for a conference held by the Asian Sisters Participating In Reaching Excellence (APSIRE). This annual conference seeks to set forth strategic dialogue on the importance of leadership for Asian American girls and women. The conference serves as a platform where women who have achieved career success share their stories with young, aspiring women.
“I’m pretty impressed you guys all came on a Saturday. For those of you who are students, I know Saturday is often a catch-up day for all of you,” quipped Jane Hyun, the author of Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Career Strategies for Asians, in a panel discussion that addressed the issue of the glass ceiling at the workplace.
In this panel discussion, three other successful career women of Asian heritage shared their experiences as female leaders in the workplace: Carolyn Cho, a systems biologist, Lisa Wong, Mayor of Fitchburg and Allison Leung, a green-venture entrepreneur.
In doing research for her book on career advancement, the Korean-born Hyun interviewed 100 executives from a variety of Fortune 100 companies and non-profits, including white males and females, as well as ethnic minorities, including African Americans, Hispanics and Asians. Through the interviews, Hyun found that the corporate ladder can be broken down in three stages: 1) A reliable producer who works hard to get the job done; 2) a middle-manager whose responsibility goes beyond his/her official job title, and whose role is to building relationships across the organization; 3) a senior executive who is an influence at the table and has organizational impact.
Hyun believes that without passing through the first stage, it is hard for one to move to the next level. Difficult as it is to climb the corporate ladder, being a “multicultural woman,” or “double-outsider,” presents even more barriers to overcome. “[Being double-outsiders] means they are not in the locker room wit the men, and they are not in the living with the white women,” said Hyun, citing a study. Being double-minority (female and ethnic minority), multicultural women have less access at the workplace due to the lack of mentors and being excluded from sphere of influence.
Carolyn Cho, who is of Korean and Japanese heritage, does not believe in the glass ceiling. Rather, she believes in being entrepreneurial, in that one figures out what one wants to how to get there.
Lisa Wong, 31, spoke on the Asian minority stereotype. Being the valedictorian of her high school class, Wong recounted a conversation she overheard.
I had to give that [valedictorian] speech. I remember being in the bathroom…and there were these mothers who were at the sink, and washing their hands. They were talking about me. One of the mothers whose daughter was the second highest ranked in her class, said, “She [Wong] doesn’t count [as the top of the class. She is Asian! Whatever, she doesn’t count.”
Trying to break away from the stereotype, once in college, Wong “went crazy.” She went extreme with her course selection and workload, while still working at her parents’ restaurant. Having obtained all her degrees at the age of 19, Wong went backpacking around the world, fighting for various causes. “I became the black sheep of the family,” said the Massachusetts native. Finally, she returned to the U.S. and found herself in community organizing and later politics.
Alice Leung, the founder of Top Sprouts, a company that develops rooftop greenhouse systems to grow fresh produce for urban consumer, remarked on taking a riskier career path, Leung gave this piece of advice, “It’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay that you don’t know everything.”
Whether it is a beaten path or a road less traveled on which one wishes to sojourn, the presence of encouragement and mentorship makes each journey a more enriched experience.
