Over-representation and De-minoritization: Asian/Americans in STEM (Workshop)

Jackie Shen

Why this Workshop

Over J-term in my sophomore year at Amherst College, I enrolled in a course called Being Human in STEM. Prior to the first class meeting, we were given an assignment which included a preliminary reflection on our identities and our roles in being human in STEM. The fourth question of the exercise asked: as you embark on this HSTEM adventure, what are you most excited about, and most concerned about?

To this, I wrote: “Recognizing my own identity and privilege as an Asian, upper-middle class, heterosexual woman largely sheltered from discrimination and marginalization in the STEM community, I am both excited and concerned about how I can contribute to the HSTEM cause/ethos of fostering a most inclusive and supportive community and how I can come to terms with the inherent privilege that comes with my own racial, sexual, and socioeconomic identity.”

My response spoke to my perception of being largely removed from issues of diversity and inclusivity. I was writing as if I saw myself as an “ally” to my marginalized peers in the fight against racial inequality rather than a person of color myself. A contradiction occurs, however, when I was asked to respond to the prompt immediately below that question: please be prepared to briefly describe a time that was challenging or frustrating for you […]

I wrote: “I stand at a strange crossroad, being simultaneously overrepresented (Asian American) and underrepresented (female) in STEM. As such, I’ve felt in the past the pressure to achieve in order to meet expectations stemming from my race and the Model Minority stereotype, as well as the sense of needing to prove myself over and over again to achieve the same level of respect as that of a man with similar qualifications…”

At the moment I thought nothing of it, but there existed a strange disparity in which I seemed unable to acknowledge my own experiences of marginalization, yet clearly felt and was affected by them. Upon speaking with other Asian/American students, I realized I was not alone in my experiences. One Chinese student studying biochemistry on the pre-med track mentioned offhandedly that, as he was leaving after an interview for a summer internship program, he overheard the interviewer say: “we don’t need another Asian.” Another Vietnamese student from a large state university recalled being asked “in a very condescending way” by a classmate whether she felt like she needed an Asian center on campus. “It made me upset that he expected me to say no,” she explained, “but maybe he’s right.” 

Throughout these accounts, a common theme prevailed: a reluctance to recognize their own experiences as valid encounters of discrimination and marginalization. This internalization of the Model Minority Myth results in a mindset in which an Asian/American student might think, “look at the privilege that we have, does it make sense to complain about our situation when things are so much better for us compared to what others have had to go through?” It leads to the de-minoritization of Asian/Americans, where others and the individuals themselves fail to acknowledge their experiences as minorities because they perceive Asian/Americans in STEM to be overrepresented and positively stereotyped.

As such, reading Ebony McGee’s “‘Black Genius, Asian Fail’: The Detriment of Stereotype Lift and Stereotype Threat in High-Achieving Asian and Black STEM Students” in HSTEM was incredibly validating and self-affirming. The paper discusses how both Black students and Asian students endure emotional distress, are burdened with being stereotyped and judged unfairly, and feel a need to work extra hard to meet or surpass expectations of them. Realizing that I was not alone in my experiences allowed me to recognize my feelings as valid and worthwhile.

I came into the class uncertain about my identity and insecure about my place in STEM. Nearing the end of the course, I had a much clearer understanding of who I was. Creating this workshop, I sought to answer one question: What role do Asian/Americans have in STEM?

Goals

This workshop is intended for any student in STEM, but particularly Asian/American students. I hope that this workshop can serve as a diagnostic device and provide Asian/Americans the language they need to recognize their own experiences as valid, and have a network they can come back to and feel supported by. In addition, this workshop seeks to stimulate mutual collaboration and understanding between Asian/Americans and other minority groups, rather than perpetuating long-held representations of these racial groups as antagonistic opposites. Put another way, this workshop intends to call in Asian/American students to recognize their experiences as valid as well as the need to not be complicit in upholding a system that disadvantages other minority groups. It also aims to call in non-Asian/American students to be aware that the abundant presence of Asian/Americans in STEM does not mean freedom from discrimination. As is the theme all too common in both STEM and non-STEM institutions, representation does not necessarily equate to equality. 

Process:

The structure of the workshop takes inspiration from the reading, discussing, and sharing model of Being Human in STEM. Students will share their own lived experiences in STEM, read relevant literature, and draw connections from the text to their own lives. 

The workshop seeks to engage with the audience through:

Listening: Students will actively listen to their peers’ experiences in STEM through story sharing in small group discussions and look into themselves to examine their own experiences in STEM.

Validating: Engagement with literature and hearing about other students’ lived experiences will promote recognition and affirmation that their peers’ feelings and their own feelings are valid and worthwhile.

Reflecting: Through getting a better understanding of other students’ lived experiences in STEM and of the broader socio-political context surrounding the issue via readings, students will put the ideas from the material in conversation with their own lived experience and share their thoughts in discussions.

Partnering: Taking with them what they have learned, participants of the workshop will make a commitment to acknowledge and empower Asian/Americans in STEM and collaborate with other underrepresented groups to foster positive change.

The readings tackle a series of difficult subjects and themes, including but not limited to:

  1. What the Model Minority Myth is
  2. How the Model Minority Myth and perceptions of the over-representation of Asian/Americans undermine and overlook underrepresented Southeast Asian/Americans (Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, and Vietnamese) who are among the most socially and economically disadvantaged in America
  3. How the Model Minority Myth pits Asian/Americans against other peoples of color, and how historically Asian/Americans have often been complicit in this. The stereotype is a both a burden because these ideals are impossible to meet and because they are ideals premised on the continued exploitation of other minorities
  4. The importance of standing in solidarity with the Black community and refusing to be instrumentalized by white supremacy in the perpetuation of anti-Blackness
  5. The internalization of the Model Minority Myth which leads to the “too well-off to seek help” phenomenon
  6. The commonality of experiences of marginalization between Asian/Americans and other minority groups in STEM
  7. How Asian women in STEM in particular are often invisible and ignored, disproportionately underrepresented in leadership positions, and face normalized sexual harassment

Outline:

  1. Introduction
  2. Story sharing by facilitators and small group discussions of experiences in STEM
    1. Fosters a sense of community and a safe space
    2. Stimulates introspection and compassion for others
  3. The Model Minority Myth
    1. Grace A. Chen & Jason Y. Buell (2018) Of models and myths: Asian(Americans) in STEM and the neoliberal racial project, Race Ethnicity and Education, 21:5, 607-625, DOI: 10.1080/13613324.2017.1377170
    2. Podcast: Disrupting the “Asians Are Good at Math” narrative. University of Washington College of Education.
    3. Ngo, Bic, and Stacey J. Lee. “Complicating the Image of Model Minority Success: A Review of Southeast Asian American Education.” Review of Educational Research, vol. 77, no. 4, 2007, pp. 415–433. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4624907. Accessed 28 Jan. 2021.
    4. Nguyen, V. T. (2020, June 25). Asian Americans Are Still Caught in the Trap of the ‘Model Minority’ Stereotype. And It Creates Inequality for All [Editorial]. Time. Retrieved from https://time.com/5859206/anti-asian-racism-america/
  4. Lived Experiences of Asian/Americans
    1. McGee, Ebony. “‘Black Genius, Asian Fail’: The Detriment of Stereotype Lift and Stereotype Threat in High-Achieving Asian and Black STEM Students.” AERA Open, (October 2018). https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858418816658.
    2. Gupta, A., Szymanski, D. M.,& Leong, F. T. L. (2011). The “model minority myth”: Internalized racialism of positive stereotypes as correlates of psychological distress, and attitudes toward helpseeking. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 2(2), 101-114.
  5. Asian Women in STEM
    1. Wu, Lilian, and Wei Jing. “Asian Women in STEM Careers: An Invisible Minority in a Double Bind.” Issues in Science and Technology 28, no. 1 (Fall 2011).
    2. Castro, AR, Collins, CS. Asian American women in STEM in the lab with “White Men Named John”. Science Education. 2020; 105: 33– 61. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21598
  6. Discussion
    1. Drawing personal connections to the text
    2. Begins with small group discussions and then students can share in larger group discussion
  7. Conclusion
    1. Students discuss how to apply what they have learned to their own communities moving forward