Why Aren’t There More Asian Americans in Leadership Positions?

Why Aren’t There More Asian Americans in Leadership Positions?
hbr.org

Good luck, there's a reason those attributes are dominant.

Once you get in the club, you move up. I think South Asian asians do better here as many have excellent language skills. East Asians have a disadvantage there, and cultural friction makes it hard for "ABC" chinese. IMO it's less a glass ceiling for asians and more that people will take care of their tribe first. (ie. companies who only want to talk to Stanford alum, etc)

You see this in government. One city agency that I consulted with had a disproportionate number orthodox jewish folks and east africans in leadership positions -- associates of the boss and deputy boss. In a county in another state, all of the leadership of verticals were Indian from a specific region whose name escapes me.

Corporations are different, because corporate leadership is more incestuous and boards lack real power over hiring anyone outside the club, unlike a Mayor, Governor, etc who has total control.

First of all, Asian Americans are still overrepresented in tech leadership positions. Just less than they are overrepresented in tech positions in general. So looking for a negative (discriminatory) effect may be the wrong thing - we may need to look for less of a positive effect instead. That's harder to do, of course.

Second, while the stereotypes described in the article may well play a role here, there are other explanations that are overlooked but may matter as much or more. We know that height is a significant factor in earning and in particular in getting to leadership positions. It's of comparable effect to the gender gap, but not as studied, because it's not "interesting" - US culture is focused on looking for discrimination on the familiar axes of race, gender and sexuality. But just like height might explain women's relatively low leadership rates, it might explain Asian American's, as they tend to be shorter.