The Model Minority Myth

Karen Chan had worked in the finance department of a midsize retail chain for seven years when a new supervisor was hired. Karen was shocked when he talked about her ethnicity. “My boss would make comments like, ‘I can always count on you to get the budget right, because I know Asians are good with numbers.’” Her supervisor’s downward communication began to influence the perception of other department heads, who sought Karen’s input on complicated financial questions. “I actually majored in English, and when I chose finance as a career, it wasn’t because I was a quantitative expert. I knew I had an eye for detail, and I appreciated the foundation finance would provide for a long-term career in business.”

Chan decided to confront her boss. She quickly learned that her boss was behaving out of ignorance. “He didn’t mean to deliberately hurt me, but I didn’t want him to continue doing it. I may want to make a switch to operations or marketing, and my boss’s comments were cornering me into a finance career within the firm.” They both agreed to communicate about these slips as they occurred.

Many Asian Americans, like Chan, are victims of the model minority myth, the belief that certain immigrant groups have overcome all the barriers to success and are self-effacing, reliable, hardworking, and technically proficient (Asian American Career Center, n.d.; Hyun, 2005). Writer Jane Hyun (2005) of the NAACP encourages workers who feel they are being stereotyped as “model minorities” to discuss the matter directly with their supervisors, much as Karen Chan did. Importantly, you should not try to combat the stereotype by acting irresponsible, loud, or wild. Most employers value workers who are reliable, hardworking, and technically proficient, so you don’t want to behave in ways contrary to these attributes.

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