Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling:
Assets for Advancement in College, Career,
Civic Engagement, and Life
Michael Chang, Ph.D.
July 23, 2013
What is a “bamboo ceiling”?
The term "bamboo ceiling" was coined in writer Jane Hyun's
book, Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Career Strategies for
Asians.[1] It is defined as a combination of individual, cultural,
and organizational factors that impede Asian Americans’ career
progress inside organizations. Since then, a variety of sectors
(including nonprofits, universities, the government) have
discussed the impact of the ceiling as it relates to Asians and the
challenges they face. As described by Anne Fisher[disambiguation
needed], "bamboo ceiling" refers to the processes and barriers that
serve to exclude Asians and American people of Asian descent
from executive positions on the basis of subjective factors such as
"lack of leadership potential" and "lack of communication skills"
that cannot actually be explained by job performance or
qualifications.[2] (Wikipedia)
Of Asian Americans, 52.4% are
college graduates, while the
[6]
national average is 29.9%.
• The Asian American population accounts for about 4.8% of the U.S.
population,[7] but only 0.3% of corporate office populations.[8]
• In New York, Asian Americans have the highest number of associates at
top New York law firms, yet the lowest conversion rate to
partner.[9] According to a study of the 25 largest Bay Area companies 12
had no Asian board members, and five had no Asian corporate officers.[11]
• Even in fields where Asian Americans are highly represented, such as the
Silicon Valley software industry, they comprise a disproportionately small
percentage of upper management and board positions.[2] Statistics show
that 1 out of 3 or one-third of all software engineers in the Silicon Valley
being Asian, they make up only 6% of board members and 10% of
corporate officers of the Bay Area's 25 largest companies.
• At the National Institutes of Health, where 21.5% of scientists are Asians,
they make up only 4.7% of the lab and branch directors.[10]
Asian Americans Face Corporate
Bamboo Ceiling: High Tech Sector
All Asian Am employees in US
All Asian Am employees in US (%)
Cisco
9,546
35%
Intel
11,510
23%
Sun
4,367
25%
eBay
1,355
25%
AMD
879
26%
Sanmina
1,757
19%
Asian Am Corporate Officers '08
Other Asian Am VPs '08
Asian Am Officials & Managers '05
0.0%
19.6%
25.0%
11.1%
17.6%
14.0%
11.8%
11.1%
14.1%
12.5%
0.0%
14.3%
20.2%
12.5%
10.6%
Note: Corporate officers are typically CEO's management team.
Sources: EEOC reports sent by companies in 2005, courtesy of
Mike Swift @ San Jose Mercury.
Count of Corp officers, VPs from web sites in 2008.
Asian Americans Face Bamboo Ceiling
in Public Sector
San Jose City Government, by Race.
Mercury News January 4, 2004
Administrators
Employees Residents
78% (28 )
57%
40%
Latino 14% (5)
26%
27%
Asian
6% (2)
11%
28%
Black
3% (1)
5%
3%
White
I. Brainstorm Assets for
Advancement in College
II. Brainstorm Assets for
Advancement in Careers
10 Things Employers Want
Work Ethic –Be honest, manage time & money.
Physical Skills– Stay well, look good, know how to type.
Verbal Communication– Converse 1 to 1, present to groups.
Written Communication—write well, edit and proof.
Work with People—Good relationships, work well in teams.
Influence People—Manage efficiently, sell successfully,
politick wisely, lead effectively.
7. Know how to gather information.
8. Know quantitative tools—numbers, graphs, spreadsheets.
9. Asking and answering the right questions.
10. Solve Problems—Identify, develop, and launch solutions.
Check out: 10 Things Employers Want You to Learn in College
by Bill Coplin
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
III. Brainstorm Assets for
Effective Civic Engagement
The Tasks of Leadership
1.
2.
3.
4.
Envisioning Goals—Collectively/Individually.
Affirming Core Values.
Motivating.
Managing—Leaders often has to also manage. Planning, priority setting,
organizing, institution building, system functioning, agenda setting, decision
making, exercising political judgment.
5. Developing (Workable) Unity.
6. Building Trust.
7. Explaining. People want to know what the problem is and why they are
being asked to do certain things.
8. Serving as a symbol.
9. Representing the group.
10. Fostering the process of renewal.
Check out: On Leadership by John Gardner.
IV. Brainstorm Assets for
Fulfillment in Life
10 Talents of a Mindful Leader
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Simplicity
Poise
Respect
Courage
Confidence
Enthusiasm
Patience
Awarenes
Skillfulness
Humility
Check out: The Mindful Leader by Michael Carroll,
Dr. C’s other reads:
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The Art of Business by Raymond Yeh.
The Art of Getting Things Done by Richard Brislin.
Discovering the Leader in You Workbook by Sara King.
Influence Without Authority by Allan Cohen.
Leading with the Heart by Mike Krzyzewski.
Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by
Thich Nhat Hanh.
The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by
Susan Cain.
Servant Leadership by Robert Greenleaf.
Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership by Joseph Jaworski.
Tao Te Ching: An Illustrated Journey. Translated by Stephen
Mitchell.
Zen Lessons: The Art of Leadership. Translated by Thomas Cleary.
In a gentle way, you can shake the world.
Mahatma Gandhi
Everything is a test, to see what you will do.
Master Hsuan Hua