Despite claims of diversity and inclusion, Asian Americans in Silicon Valley still face racism and are least likely to break into leadership positions
Bloomberg
Context & Ripple Effects
This Bloomberg report lands four years after a study found race a stronger impediment than gender for Silicon Valley leadership roles — one that showed white women in leadership rising 17% over eight years while other minority groups declined. The 2021 finding that Asian Americans are the least likely group to break into leadership extends that arc from entry barriers to the top of the ladder.
It also completes a pattern visible across 2021 coverage: after protests against racial inequality prompted VC pledges and special funds for minority founders, Black founders were still sidelined, and later pay-gap data showed female African American tech workers earning $0.92 per white male dollar. D&I commitments, the corpus suggests, have not converted into advancement outcomes for any non-white group.
First-order effects
Silicon Valley employers whose D&I claims this reporting contradicts now face scrutiny over why Asian American workers — heavily represented in their technical ranks — are the least likely to reach leadership positions.
Second-order effects
Investors who responded to 2020's racial-inequality protests with special funds for minorities face credibility pressure as parallel coverage shows those mechanisms leaving Black founders sidelined, suggesting capital earmarked for diversity is failing at both the founder and employee levels.
Third-order effects
If the 2017-to-2022 pattern holds — declining minority leadership share, stalled founder funding, widening pay gaps — pressure will build to replace representation-based D&I metrics with outcome measures like promotion rates and pay equity, making advancement data rather than headcount the industry's accountability standard.
The trend: Silicon Valley's diversity commitments are being measured against stagnant leadership and pay outcomes across minority groups, pushing the industry toward advancement metrics rather than hiring rhetoric.
Good on @Priyasideas and @ellenhuet for tackling the story almost nobody else wants to touch — all the complicated ways in which Asians (especially women) are pushed back in the tech industry https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Excellent report from Bloomberg on the challenges faced by Asian Americans in tech. There is reason diversity is more than a numbers game. It's also about equity, inclusion and especially belonging. We have a lot of work to do. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Solid read about realities that Asians and Asian Americans face in tech (and honestly, everywhere): Tech companies love to crow about diversity and inclusion. Asian workers see a racist “bait and switch.” https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Thank you to @ellenhuet and @Priyasideas for covering how tech bias and harm impacts Asian Americans. And also to @bosefina, @ericbahn, @hjzhu and @jzmusings for also speaking up about their experiences so fewer people will have to suffer https://twitter.com/...
SILICON VALLEY'S DIVERSITY PROBLEM ‘AA are the least likely of all racial groups to break into leadership in tech companies. At FB, where 46% of U.S. workers are Asian, only 26% are director-level or higher’. What can be done better? https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Asian Americans in Silicon Valley are often told they “dont count” as a minority. Yet they face subtle but ever-present discrimination. @ellenhuet and I dug into what it's like to be the majority minority in Silicon Valley for @BW https://www.bloomberg.com/...
“Being White, she says, is 'like having a skip pass at Disney World. I realized there is a bamboo ceiling, and I'd have to work 100 times harder.'” https://www.bloomberg.com/... @ellenhuet @Priyasideas @BW https://twitter.com/...
Many Asian Americans in tech, especially women, face subtle yet ever-present discrimination. It takes many forms: sexualized comments, assumptions based on stereotypes..., or perf. reviews that seem to be more about identity than actual performance... https://www.bloomberg.com/..…
Well researched article on racial discrimination against Asian Americans in Silicon Valley. Things were much worse in the 1970s when I was a top corporate executive in tech, at a time when hardly any Indians worked in CEO/COO levels in USA. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
“You're so lucky to be Asian,” a man at a meetup told her. “White men here will love to date you.” >> how many times have i heard this....... https://www.bloomberg.com/...
This feels infuriatingly relatable from the very first sentence: “Silicon Valley executives sometimes seem to believe they are proprietors of a post-racial paradise. ” https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Honored to share my story along other Asian Americans in tech I respect like @ericbahn @hjzhu @ekp @jzmusings about our lived experiences cracking the bamboo ceiling and navigating double standards: https://www.bloomberg.com/... Our stories compound to change ✊🏽
really proud of this feature @Priyasideas and I wrote exploring the sometimes-surreal experience of being Asian American in tech: the overrepresented minority huge thank you to @Bosefina, @ericbahn, @hjzhu, @ekp, @jzmusings and others who shared stories https://www.bloomberg.com/…
The stereotype of Asian Americans—the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group—as privileged and upwardly mobile is misleading. The reality is more complicated. https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
“It takes many forms: sexualized comments, assumptions based on stereotypes ('You must be great at programming!'), or performance reviews that seem to be more about identity than actual performance...” https://www.bloomberg.com/... @Priyasideas @ellenhuet @BW
PHEW what a read: h/t @anniekatrina The story is complicated, which mirrors the model minority stereotype. Subtle discrimination is still discrimination. #StopAsianHate https://www.bloomberg.com/...