The Leaky Pipeline: Asian Minority or Majority?

I attended a graduate school where international students account for about 6-7% of the student body. (see note) From the moment I signed off on the acceptance offer letter, throughout my time on campus until graduation, the scarcity of Asian faces around rarely bothered me—except when it came to finding authentic East-Asian food.

There were a few exceptions (mentioned in the last edition of the newsletter), such as the encounter of possibly being the only first-generation Asian immigrant in a room filled with predominantly white students. (Knock knock. Can I be here and join writing opportunities even though English is my second language and I seem to suck at it?)

Disclaimer: The group, along with the subsequent science communication and writing community I encountered in the following years, proved to be one of the most welcoming and inclusive spaces.

When I first encountered the concepts of inclusion and diversity, the emphasis seemed to be on the Black community—at least, that's in my experience at the time. It left me in confusion for quite a while, because I started to question my identity. Do I consider myself a minority? What does the stereotype of the model minority, typically associated with Asian-Americas, mean to me when I was not born here but meanwhile, I have two kids who were born in America? How can that shape our family's identity?

The same narrative questions lingered even as I embarked on my first post-PhD job in the industry, joining a company that historically lacked Asian senior leadership. During my time, I made observations that while science and technology fields have a relatively vibrant representation of Asians, outside of the functions, marketing, finance, or human resources, rarely reflect the diversity.

That's why I received shock and confirmation when reading the story about Asian American doctors, who are overrepresented in medicine but largely underrepresented in leadership, as I realized that there is more than one side to the story for Asians in STEM in America.

It said that in the medical field, Asian Americans are the only group whose proportion of medical school department chairs is much lower than their proportion of faculty. The following data is stunningly alarming: Despite having a higher proportion of faculty and professor positions, Asian Americans advance to chair positions at a lower rate than Black and Hispanic faculty members.

One physician who is seeking leadership position shared the struggles, “I’ve been told many times I have all the talent and the whole package, but I’m just ‘not the right person.’”

Black and Hispanic faculty members advance to chair positions at a higher rate than Asian Americans though Asians have a bigger proportion in faculty and professor positions. Chart: J. Emory Parker/STAT Source:

The perception gap in Asians being (relatively) well-represented in medicine and leadership arose as the story progressed, as Asian American physicians are frequently grouped with white physicians in many demographic analyses.

The physician interview made an excellent analogy to the NFL, where the vast majority of players are Black but Black head coaches are uncommon. "It's the same in our profession."

The other Asians-are-not-overrepresented pieces of study are also exhibited outside of medicine, and one study focused on academia.

A 2022 study, Systemic racial disparities in funding rates at the National Science Foundation, examined whether funding disparities existed at the NSF, the flagship US agency that supports basic research in all areas of STEM, and STEM education and workforce development.

Between 1999 and 2019, researchers leading projects (Principal Investigators or PIs) who are identified as white received more awards each year, ranging from 203 to 904 additional awards (between +203 and +904). This number has grown over time because there has been a consistent increase in the rate at which funding is given for their proposals. Meanwhile, Asian PIs were consistently underfunded relative to the number of proposals submitted, facing annual award deficits between 239 and 625 (between -239 and -625) over the same period. See below figure A.

Chen et al. eLife 2022;11:e83071

When looking at cumulative data, which adds up the quantities of funded or rejected proposals, it becomes evident that there is a surplus of net awards for white PIs (+12,820), a deficit for Asian PIs (-9,701), and comparatively smaller deficits for Black/AA (-417) and Hispanic/Latino (-175) PIs.

Thoughts

The data that jumped out from the screen, revealing that Asian Americans, despite being perceived as a part of the majority, are virtually a minority, led me into a deep yet empty thinking space. These situations can not be just discovered in recent years

At times, I received advice to speak more, share more, and assert myself so that others could notice, hear, and see me as a leader and expert. Absolutely, I agree. I spent countless hours improving this technical aspect and other more good years to reflect on my why behind my actions and choices. It took a toll on my courage and mental state because this advice simply contradicted the cultural norms I grew up with.

Convincing your roots to expand, even if you understand it could bring stability, is not a one-time process; it requires ongoing effort.

I'm not sure if convincing Asians to be a little louder is the best approach. I'm not sure that expelling whites from the norm is too much to go. I put my hopes in between—somewhere we feel comfortable voicing our minds, embodying a different leadership style than the Western white, and demonstrating that it works fantastically.

Finally, if academia sounds too vast and distant (particularly for PhDs who are deeply entrenched in corporate), regardless of whether you identify as Asian or are simply pondering the relevance of this information, I encourage you to take a few seconds to pause and reflect on the data and phenomenon the next time when you visit your doctor.

The doctor will see you now—and what do you see in this profession?

Note. As of Jan 2024, the overall number of graduate and undergraduate students is 31,539 on the UNC-CH website. 2019 UNC-CH student profile indicates there were 2,335 international students. Assuming the number has been steady, approximately there are 7.5% of international students. (Taiwanese accounts for 1.6%)

Me, my husband, and my soon-to-be-out-in-the-world baby in front of UNC old well in 2017.

Me and my then two-year-old representing the science writing and communication club in one chemistry prospect graduate student visit at UNC.