If you are Asian in America, you probably grew up with the idea that you had to keep your head down, get perfect grades, and work hard to achieve wealth and success.

Many of these ideas are because of the model minority myth—a set of assumptions about Asian American achievement and behavior that have held Asian Americans back from equal opportunity in academia, the workforce, and necessary government welfare. However, the perception of overachievement also leaves Asian Americans out of important equity conversations and suppresses their career growth.

In recent years, Asian representation among college students and in executive leadership has come under scrutiny. According to studies, nearly 60% of Asian Americans go to college. After school, they comprise 13% of working professionals but just 6% of executive leadership.

So is the career suppression of Asian Americans a hidden form of racism? If not, why exactly have Asian Americans been underrepresented in management roles, and what can we do about it?

For many years, anti-Asian biases and discrimination have largely gone unacknowledged. Until now, as the nation takes a closer look at the origins of discrimination in a climate of racial reckonings and increased violence.

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