Expanding the Definition of Diversity — Asian Americans are not as homogeneous as you might think

There’s been a lot of talk about diversity in tech as of late. I am proud to be part of the tech scene and I make it part of my mission as a co-founder and a CEO to make sure that my company’s culture and workforce is as inclusive of others. One thing is disturbing to me though. People talk about problems with ‘diversity’ in tech. Yes, there aren’t many African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and women in tech. I agree with that.

But there is a huge thing that I have noticed. Asia is a HUGE continent that represents countries like China, Japan, Korea, and India. Yes, there are a LOT of people who of those ethnicities in the workforce, but what about Hmongs, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Indonesians, etc.

Asian Americans have always been labeled as the ‘model minority’ and there are plenty of people who go out there to point to the success of Asian Americans. To some level, this can be true, but if you stop looking at the community as a huge block that is homogeneous and look at it for what it is, a community of incredibly diverse individuals and ethnicities, you will see that not everyone has the priveleges that most people celebrate.

Filipinos and Hmong are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to socioeconomics in the United States. People forget that we are NOT a homogeneous group. There aren’t a lot of people of Vietnamese, Indonesian, Filipino, Malaysian, Laotian, or Hmong decent in tech. Then of course, there’s those who are considered Pacific Islanders: Those of Micronesia, Guam, native Hawaiians, etc.

When was the last time that you’ve heard of someone of that decent in tech? There’s not many of us and we are being left out of the diversity discussion. Remember, diversity extends beyond what people look like on the surface. It’s not that there’s a lot of Asians in tech, there’s a lot of Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, and Indians in tech, but not much else.

Let’s expand our definition of diversity and see how else we can look at groups beyond a high level and think that these underrepresented groups are homogeneous blocks.

There are still challenges for the Asian-Pacific Islander American community. For instance, there was a post where one founder recalls being completely ignored at an investor event, where his other colleague who was white was immediately spoken to. There have been instances in my life where I was immediately thought of as the CTO of a friend’s company simply because we were talking and he was the CEO. Then there was that one instance where people thought my 6'5" cofounder was the CEO, and I was the CTO (it’s the reverse). Then of course, there’s times I’m challenged on my “leadership” from people who barely know me by virtue of “Asians aren’t very good at leadership or assertive enough.” (Yes, that was a quote I shall remember for the rest of my life).

Sure, it sounds like it’s not a big reminder, but it speaks to underlying issue in the community. The underlying bias of people and the urge to put them into huge boxes and think everything is fine. Let’s break down the big barriers and just try to be as inclusive of everyone as possible. That’s how we make tech even better after all.