AAACE 2021 Annual Conference

Asian American, Human resource Development

Despite their contributions to the U.S. economy, the experiences of Asian Americans in workplace is understudied. The purpose of this study is to review workplace diversity research on Asian Americans and make recommendations to human resource development scholars and practitioners.

Asian Americans and individuals of Asian descent have been under attack in the United States, especially since the outbreak of Covid-19. According to the Stop AAPI Hate National Report, 3795 hate incidents towards were reported from March 2020 to February 2021(Jeung et al., 2021). Asian American population is fast growing and 61.6% of the population is in the U.S. workforce (BLS Reports, 2019). However, the workplace experience of Asian American was understudied (Cheng & Thatchenkery, 1997; Lai & Babcock, 2013). Several factors might have contributed to the research gap. First, Asian Americans have relatively little representation and influence in government, business, and public media (Cheng & Thatchenkery, 1997; Chen et al., 2000). Second, the model minority myth contributes to the dismissal and trivialization of the discriminations Asian Americans experience (Lai, 2013). Third, the perpetual foreigner stereotype has led to a sense of otherness (Chen et al., 2000; Devos & Smalazr, 2011). The purpose of this study is to review workplace diversity research on Asian Americans and make recommendations to human resource development scholars and practitioners. It aims to recognize the diverse workplace experiences of Asian Americans and extends the understanding of how to best support Asian Americans in workplace.