The month of May has been set aside to acknowledge the achievements of Asian Americans since 1997. On the one hand, there is a lot to celebrate this AAPI Heritage Month; the entertainment industry has become a more welcoming place for Asian stories, themes, and talent.
“With global success stories such as Crazy Rich Asians (ahem, the books and the film), K-pop, Squid Game, Beef, and Everything Everywhere All at Once, it might seem like Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are everything and everywhere all at once,” Jennifer Sangalang, social media strategist at USA Today points out in this comprehensive AAPI Month explainer. “But we've been here. For years. We just weren't necessarily seen or heard.”
Yet Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders still go unseen and unheard in the workforce—and I mean that literally.
Typically lumped into one broad category for diversity purposes, "AAPI" as a demographic designation utterly fails to consider the stark differences in the realities faced by the people under that umbrella. Income inequality is greater among Asian Americans than any other racial or ethnic group in the U.S.; for every Chinese or Indian tech CEO or mogul, young executives face ongoing stereotypes about their potential. The gap gets worse from there.
Let's take the wage gap for AAPI women as one example. Taiwanese women are among the highest-paid women in the workforce, earning $1.08 compared to their white male counterparts. Nepalese women earn just 48 cents on the dollar, the lowest on a spectrum that finds Southeast Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander women disproportionately trapped in caregiving, retail, health care, and service jobs. Poor data collection for this cohort hurts them at home, too. A lack of good census data ensures that many AAPI communities don’t get the necessary social, health, and safety services.
The bottom line is a lack of access to disaggregated data undermines everyone’s progress, including anyone committed to inclusion in the workplace.
But employers can make AAPI Heritage Month count this year by pushing for disaggregated data collection in the workplace and supporting public policies that give Asian American voters a meaningful voice—in whatever language they speak. Also, get to know your Asian American colleagues. Understanding their experience and history will help everyone bring their true selves to work.
Ellen McGirt
@ellmcgirt
Ellen.McGirt@fortune.com
This edition of raceAhead was edited by Ruth Umoh.
