Systemic Barriers to Asian American Pacific Islander Women’s Career Growth: Social, Gender, and Cultural Perspectives

Despite the significant strides in diversity and inclusion initiatives, the stark underrepresentation of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) women in leadership roles within major corporations is a pressing issue. Holding only 2.8 percent of vice president roles, 2.5 percent of senior vice president positions, and 1.8 percent of C-suite executive-level positions among four hundred large companies surveyed in 2021 (McKinsey & Company, 2022), this underrepresentation is a critical trend that demands immediate attention. It highlights systemic barriers that persist and continue to challenge the career advancement of AAPI women in the workplace. This study aims to address these challenges by employing an intersectionality framework to analyze the multifaceted issues contributing to the professional glass ceiling encountered by AAPI women. The originality of this research is underscored by its comprehensive application of the intersectionality framework. This framework, which integrates race, gender, and cultural dynamics, is crucial in exploring the layers of discrimination that AAPI women face in professional settings. The study also examines AAPI women’s stereotypes and their exclusion from the equity and inclusion discourse, a facet that previous research has often overlooked. By highlighting the complex interplay of these factors, the study offers new insights into the obstacles that hinder the professional progression of AAPI women. This study, which is methodologically innovative, synthesizes various theoretical models to probe the root causes of inequity at the intersection of race and gender. This inquiry is pivotal as it addresses a significant gap in the current literature, setting the stage for future interventions aimed at fostering genuine inclusivity and equality in leadership representation. The potential impact of this research is immense, as it can inform policy changes and management practices that support the inclusion and advancement of AAPI women at all levels both in corporate and public sector hierarchies. Ultimately, it can enhance the diversity of leadership within the global workplace landscape, offering a hopeful prospect of change.