Asian American workers in the tech industry have filed a series of lawsuits against what they say is ‘systemic bias’ in Silicon Valley, which prevents them from reaching managerial and senior executive roles. Through the lawsuits, the workers have demanded that major tech companies make policies and put systems in place to track the rates of promotion among Asian American employees.
A USA Today report quoted Asian American worker Vaishnavi Jayakumar, originally from Singapore, as alleging that she was discriminated against on a racial basis at Meta where she was ‘layered’ under less experienced white workers.
“I’ve never felt more keenly that as an Asian woman, I’m destined to be a worker, I’m not destined to be a leader,” USA Today quoted Jayakumar as saying in an interview. “And that’s an awful feeling,” she added.
Lawsuits filed by Asian Americans
The lawsuits filed by enraged Asian Americans allege that when it comes to taking on leadership positions, they are among the least supported groups. “The pattern of discrimination experienced by Ms. Jayakumar mirrors that faced by the broader Asian American community: others make assumptions about what work Asian Americans are suited for,” the statement read.
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“The generations of men and women before us had to suffer in silence. I don’t think any one of us wants this to continue for a minute longer than it already has,” Jayakumar commented.
Are Asian Americans really discriminated against?
An analysis done by USA Today found that while Asian Americans were most likely to be hired for professional roles, they were the least likely of all to reach the managerial and senior roles with more power.
This is glaringly visible in companies like Meta, where Asian Americans make up 46 per cent of the total workforce, but just 27 per cent of executives. White employees, on the other side, make up just 39 per cent of the total workforce but occupy 58 per cent of total executive roles.
Buck Gee, an executive adviser to Ascend Foundation, the nation’s largest network of Asian American professionals, said, “The tech industry has made progress in becoming more racially diverse in its workforce but has made virtually no progress in becoming more racially equitable in its leadership pipeline.”
False perception about Asian Americans
The lawsuits highlight that there is a false perception in the corporate space that Asian Americans generally don’t face discrimination. But, Pawan Dhingra, president of the Association for Asian American Studies and a professor at Amherst College, says, “The economic realities for Asians and Asian Americans vary greatly, particularly for those in low-wage and low-opportunity jobs on H-1B visas.”
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