A new survey has shown that Asian Americans are more likely to join employee affinity groups, but they don’t feel supported enough within their own companies.
Recent research by /AAPI Data, and Momentive showed that Asian Americans still feel excluded from corporate diversity and equity (DEI) initiatives despite being involved in high numbers in employee-led resources groups (ERGs), twice as many as workers overall.
This study looked at diversity in American life and found that 16% of Asian Americans are involved in employee-led groups, which is far higher than the 8% overall. More than half of respondents said they were motivated by the desire to connect with others. However, 44% stated that they are driven by professional growth opportunities. 39% mentioned the possibility to increase awareness and inclusion within their company.
Nevertheless, nearly one quarter of Asian American workers felt excluded from workplace discussions on diversity and inclusion. This feeling of insufficient support is also evident in discussions about leadership roles. Only one-quarter of respondents said that they were represented in leadership positions in their workplace. This is a lower percentage than any other race. Similar percentages of Asian Americans who were surveyed felt supported to accept leadership roles.
ERGs are often used to foster a sense belonging and connection within the workplace. However, they can also be used to build momentum towards leadership and provide mentorship opportunities. Karthick Ramakrishnan (founder of AAPI Data) said that this does not always work for Asian Americans.
Ramakrishnan stated that regardless of their involvement in ERG’s they don’t see much progress in terms people being promoted to leadership or executive positions within the company.
Ramakrishnan cited leadership statistics to say that Asian Americans feel excluded because of their race. Analysis McKinsey released in September by management consulting firm McKinsey. It found that while they are more than twice as many at the entry level than the rest of the population, the overall representation of Asian Americans at the board level drops by more that half. The analysis revealed that Asian American women are double penalized for their gender and race. There was an 80% drop off at the board level.
Michael Chui, a McKinsey partner and co-author on the September study, previously stated to NBC News that many companies have not taken the initiative to correct the glaring disparities. This is partly because many DEI initiatives that focus on retention and recruiting do not include Asian Americans. “Due to the myth they are already well represented at senior positions,” he said.
Ramakrishnan stated that Asian Americans feel unsupported and underrepresented. “I believe it’s important that corporations recognize the need to improve how they provide leadership opportunities for their Asian American employees and communicate effectively with them.”
However, this doesn’t mean that Asian Americans don’t have access to employee resource groups. Ramarkishnan stated that these groups often serve as a place for workers of color to share their concerns and discuss them in private. He said that they are often able find peer support and organize to improve their companies.
Ramakrishnan stated that “what we also saw was an uptick in anti-Asian violence, anti-Asian hatred, and these ERGs have also allowed people to make sense out of what was occurring even outside of work.” “It’s not just microaggressions or discrimination at work, but also outside of the workplace.
Other issues were also examined, such as gun violence following the California mass shootings earlier in the year that targeted the Asian community. Asian Americans had the highest fear of becoming victims of mass shootings at 84%, which is higher than 74% for Black Americans, Latinos and Native Hawaiians. The lowest percentage was 59% for whites. The highest support was shown by Asians and Black Americans for stricter gun control laws as well as a ban on assault weapons nationwide.
