Examining the Asian American leadership gap and inclusion issues with federal employee data: Recommendations for inclusive workforce analytic practices

Abstract

In April 2021, a coalition of employee resource groups called the Federation of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Network, or FAN, was established at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The coalition aims to be a unifying voice that represents and serves these diverse communities. Discussion within the group centered around the persistent inequities and the lack of inclusion that the Asian American communities have long endured. Two common themes emerged from these discussions: (1) a leadership gap for Asian Americans in senior leadership and managerial positions, and (2) the everyday experience of exclusion. Asian Americans represent nearly 20% of the NIH permanent workforce yet make up only 6% of the senior leadership positions. These two issues reflect the sentiment that Asian Americans often feel invisible or forgotten in the discourse of structural racism and organizational inequities, especially in organizations in which they are numerically overrepresented. The purpose of this manuscript is to raise awareness of Asian American concerns in the federal workforce and how current employment and workforce analytic practices in this domain might contribute to the invisibility. To accomplish this goal, we will (1) describe relevant historical and contemporary contexts of Asian American experience undergirding their inclusion and visibility concerns; (2) present data analyses from available data sources to provide a deeper understanding of the Asian American leadership gap and lack of inclusion concerns; (3) highlight data availability and analytic challenges that hinder the ability to address the inequity and invisibility issues; and (4) recommend practices in data collection, measurement, and analysis to increase the visibility of this community in the federal workforce.

Analysis of the Issue of Low Promotion Rates Among Asians in the United States

“…Two themes have been exposed regarding this issue: (1) The leadership gap between Asian Americans in senior leadership and management positions, as well as (2) their daily experience of being excluded. The purpose is to raise awareness of the concerns of Asian Americans in the federal labor force, as well as the potential for current employment and labor analysis practices in this field to lead to this hidden phenomenon [1]. The group with the least likelihood of promotion to management is Asian American white-collar workers.…”

“…In fiscal year 2021, Asian Americans/Asian Americans only accounted for about 6% of senior leadership positions, while they accounted for 21.2% of non-leadership positions (Goon et al, 2022.) [1]. In April 2021, the National Institutes of Health established an employee resource group alliance called the "FAN" ".…”

“…The discussion within the group focused on the long-standing inequality and lack of inclusivity in the Asian American community. These discussions lead to two common themes: (1) The leadership gap between Asian Americans in senior leadership and management positions, as well as (2) their daily experience of being excluded. Among the long-term staff in the United States, Asian Americans account for nearly 20%, but only 6% in senior management positions.…”

“…These two issues reflect the often overlooked or forgotten emotions of Asian Americans when discussing structural racism and organizational inequality, especially in large organizations. (Goon et al, 2022) [1] Fig 2 . Executive Parity Index by Leadership Types. The EPI (Executive Parity Index) is the ratio of a group's representation at the administrative level to its representation at the professional level.…”

Internalizing the model minority myth: Dangers for Asian American mental health and attitudes towards other minorities

“…Asian Americans are also disproportionately underrepresented in leadership positions despite having the qualifications and experience required for such roles, creating a dynamic that has been termed the ‘Bamboo Ceiling’ (Lu et al., 2020). For example, Asian Americans represent over 20% of the permanent workforce at the National Institutes of Health but only comprise 6% of the senior leadership positions (Goon et al., 2022; Mervis, 2005). This has been attributed to lower levels of assertiveness in Asian Americans due to cultural differences; Asians (specifically East Asians) seem to display less assertiveness than what typically aligns with the expectations of leaders in American society (Lu et al., 2020).…”