I was reading this book “break the bamboo ceiling” which is about the problem asians face in corporate america world.

The author, an Asian American HR, recruiter and coach, pointed out that only 0.29% of corporate officers of Fortune 500 company are Asian women. Even in Silicon Valley, where Asian Americans comprise 30% of technology professionals, Caucasians hold 80% of managerial positions, versus 12.5% Asian Americans.

I, like most people, gave little thought about Asians’ problems advancing their careers. The stereotypes of Asians are they’re hard working and highly educated. Note that 44% of Asian americans over age 25 have graduated from college, the highest percentage for any racial gruops, compared with the 27% average for the US population. And according to feedback from recruiters and HR directors, there is significant representation of entry-level Asian talent in corporations.

Once I started thinking about it it’s easy to identify the reason. It’s so painfully obvious that I don’t need to restate here. But I think, and the book agreed, that most Americans judge your personality by your Asian face, and it’ll just require extra effort from us to break the first impression.

I’m starting to feel the bias when I’m climbing up the corporate ladder. Sometimes when I go to clients’ with a male staff, they’ll automatically address to him. I know it’s the combination of sex and race… I wouldn’t call it discrimination, but maybe natural reaction. I bet most people aren’t even aware that they do that. Like the lyric of my favorite musical, Ave Q, “everybody is a little bit racist…”.

I haven’t finished the book, but can’t wait to see what tips she provided to counteract the bias.