Stereotypes have long plagued the American society and seep into our daily professional and personal lives. Stereotypes are conceptions based on generalizations and prejudicial attitudes about a group of individuals and often result in discriminatory thoughts and behaviors. In particular, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are often branded with these misperceptions and may encounter experiences based on stereotypes within the professional setting. - Have you ever been stereotyped in the workplace? If so, in what ways were you stereotyped, by whom, and how did you deal with it?
- What suggestions do you have regarding how to overcome stereotypes within a professional environment?
~APIASF/GMS Creative Consultants Team~
Since I am an analyst for public assistance in the government sector, my workplace is made up of a diverse group of people that better serve the low-income community. My coworkers are predominantly black and Latino, and I am the only Asian American working in a team of sixteen people. Given the diversity of my workplace and also the political correctness necessary to work for the city government, I do not experience much stereotyping from my coworkers. However, there were definitely times when my coworker would talk about her relationship with other APIAs and how she enjoys food from my culture. To be honest, I let her run on with her thoughts. Although uncomfortable to limit myself to just the topic of food, I got the feeling she was trying her best to relate to someone "different" in our workplace. If the situation was extremely uncomfortable, I would have probably told her how I felt to avoid future discomfort.
ReplyDeleteThe past summer, I attended a minority managers meeting at a business program. Minorities from various industries told stories of when they ran into trouble relating to their identity. For example, a half-Latina woman was expected to speak Spanish on the phone with her coworker's Mexican clients for the hopes that her voice will sound more authentic than anyone else's. When encountering a professional issue, I think it would be best for one to embrace the stereotype and finish the work, but counter that event afterwards by doing an even better job at something that is not stereotypically fitting.
For most of us, stereotypes are an inevitable part of daily life and they permeate all of our social settings. America’s uniqueness comes from its heterogeneous people and the differing cultures they embody, yet at the same time, these dissimilarities insidiously allow for the emergence of social typecasts. The idea of societal stereotypes should not viewed with absolute disdain because they are the byproducts of our human nature categorize the varying patterns we encounter constantly. Regardless, these stereotypes can hinder communication across different groups of people, and can perpetuate cultural misunderstandings within the general population.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I do not have enough work experience to fully demonstrate my own opinions of how these stereotypes have affected in the professional setting. However, I still encounter these stereotypes as a college undergrad. For instance, as an Asian American, I have received expectations that I must be well versed in doing multivariable calculus. In reality, I am not horrible at math, but I certainly not as mathematically inclined as the Asian American stereotype anticipates for me. Most people are surprised that I enjoy reading literature, and prefer to express my thoughts with a pen, instead of using an integral sign.
Despite the fairly open acknowledgement that stereotypes exist, they are sometimes not fully dealt with. From personal experience, this is not due to the lack of interest or motivation, but stems more from a person’s conscious awareness of the presence of stereotypes in his/her setting. Often times we fall into our mundane social routines and get lost in life’s constant babble, that we forget that such typecasts permeate our workplace. The first thing is to take a step back and give an honest look at our professional arena and discern if the people around us are treated to certain societal/cultural expectations. It is human nature to follow our socially expected patterns, but just even making an attempt to view our surroundings objectively is a step towards dealing with stereotypes.
Along the process of objectively evaluating the situation, we should sincerely look to see if any of our own daily actions fit and perpetuate the stereotypes. Often times, we are able to see the social typecasts of those around us, but we never rigorously ask ourselves if we have fallen into the same cultural fallacies. For example, sometimes when I meet new people, I find myself quickly and unfairly dismissing the possibility of being friends with the person if he/she is of a different race. This further perpetuates the stereotype that Asian Americans are only friends with other Asians. Over the past two years at college, I have actively tried to mitigate falling into this social fallacy. Even though a lot of my college friends are Asians, my best friend at college is ironically a white guy from the Mid-West.
I know that a lot of us may have written papers or had conversations pertaining to the prevalence of cultural stereotypes. This acknowledgement is not enough to dispel these social expectations. We must discern the reality of the situation and actively prevent ourselves from perpetuating these stereotypes any further. Disproving these cultural stereotypes is going to take real effort from all of us in order show that we are more than basic social expectations.
“Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind.” –Theo Roosevelt