Owning It: Embracing Your AAPI Culture Inside the Workplace

This is evident in the journey of both immigrants and American-born members of the Asian American Pacific Islander community, made up of about 23 million people. It’s estimated that AAPI individuals will make up 7.9% of the U.S. population by 2045. As outlined in Pam Yang’s article earlier this month, diversity within this community is both matrixed and varied when language and dialect, religion, gender and sexual preference—among other variables—are considered.

We often speak about environments not being conducive to the acceptance of differences. But it’s also important that individuals invest in exploring their identity, without it being dictated by social constructs, so they can proudly share their own unique identity with others and own their “inner Asian-ness” in any environment.

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Owning our shared experiences

As a Filipino American, I struggled throughout my career and journey to truly embrace my own culture and heritage until I recently made a promise to myself that I would rediscover my heritage with intentionality, with the mindset: “If I don’t use it, I lose it.”

In recent one-on-one conversations with AAPI marketing leaders regarding environment and identity throughout our careers, something that came to light was the impact this specific career experience had on one’s AAPI identity in the workplace. Through these intimate conversations, it became clear that the struggles faced are common throughout our community.

Taking “ownership of who we are” was a consistent and common thread throughout each of these conversations. For all of us, whether we embraced it or not, by default we are different from those we grew up with. Today, this notion applies to who we work and engage with.

Here are simple yet powerful pieces of advice stemming from these conversations that can empower us to take these differences into our own hands. You can take these with you or share with family, friends and colleagues to shape a more conducive environment and better allow you and future generations to “own” who you are from day one, inside and outside the workplace.

Invest today

The idea of compound interest in finance has the same impact on humanity: Invest in embracing your culture, language and heritage one day at a time, and you will experience exponential benefits over time. I call this “compounded human interest.”

It’s never too late to reignite your non-English language or curiosity for what makes you, you. This is a part of what makes us unique and provides us with perspective of value to the businesses we work for. After all, our consumers are diverse, and Asia is a massive marketplace playing a significant role within the global economic landscape.

For allies, begin by noticing microaggressions. The tragic events of late affecting the AAPI community are based on compounded negative human interest. If we shift our approach and thinking over time, this will lead to muting microaggressions completely out of our day-to-day thinking, behaviors and interactions.

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Don’t lose yourself; lean in instead

Creativity and problem-solving in the workplace aren’t about being part of the sea of sameness. It’s about leaning into what makes you unique, because there can only be one you.

Where AAPI members once sought to assimilate during the ’90s and early 2000s, now is the time to bring your distinct and unique self through your work, rhetoric, behavior and approach. Lean on other AAPI leaders, friends and colleagues to gain a better understanding of how to live a more holistic and integrated diverse life inside and outside the workspace. It’s okay if you want to have a team outing over some delicious Asian cuisine!

For allies, support the uniqueness of your AAPI colleagues and peers. Provide them with the runway to reimagine a lunch meeting, how to run a team and how to approach their work.

What gets us to better and more successful work is by allowing people to bring their whole selves in all aspects of their identity, including the work environment, which can make up over 30% of our lives. Most importantly, help amplify their visibility.

Remember you are the lens

Whether you are fully aware or not, by default, you are the lens through which your peers and friends see and experience the AAPI community. It is our responsibility to provide insight and share our cultural uniqueness for a better understanding of our communities.

If we feel we are being “boxed” in, we have the choice to shift the narrative and to provide a different perspective. We have that power and that influence.

For allies, curiosity and open-mindedness go a long way to break socially and media-constructed stereotypes of the AAPI community. By asking questions for better understanding, it provides AAPI members the platform for a safe place to share their individuality, from language and food to perspective and unique traditions. For managers and teams, create an environment where cultural differences are embraced and where the model minority myth can be debunked.

As we close out AAPI month, remember to own your identity not just this month but every day. Over time, this compounded human interest will create the runway to continue to shift preconceived stereotypes, shatter microaggressions and provide the environment to own being a member of the AAPI community inside and out. This is especially important for the next generation as they enter the workforce and the community continues to grow more diverse.

This article is part of a special Voice series, AAPI Voices Shaping the Future of Representation. In this series, we will hear from AAPI industry leaders on the cultural nuances marketers should be informed on in addition to current challenges the AAPI community faces.

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