The Visibility Mindset
I grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood and it was not until I moved to New York City to attend Baruch College - Zicklin School of Business that I started meeting more diverse communities, which opened more horizons to learn from different cultures. Throughout my entire school experience, I wish we would have learned more about diversity, equity, and inclusion along with the history of Asian Americans. Especially growing up in the United States, it would have been helpful to learn about race as part of the academic world to understand the history. Growing up, it was never part of our curriculum to know about Asian American history and I appreciate that there are now organizations like APIA Scholars that uplift the academic, personal and professional success of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans. They provide over $150 million in scholarships while also partnering with Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI).
As a Chinese American born in New York, it wasn’t until recently (I have been calling it my new Asian chapter) where I have awakened myself to do more for the Asian community, especially after all the attacks on Asians during the pandemic this past year. This is where I started to brainstorm on what I wanted to do to make a larger impact in serving the Asian community: from becoming a member of Ascend, the largest Pan-Asian business professional membership organization in North America to creating Omnicom’s first Asian employee resource group, Omnicom Asian Leaders. This was only the beginning of a flourishing new chapter for me that led me to meeting my Asians in Advertising co-founder, Bernice Chao. We met from both virtually attending an Ascend Leaders in Marketing webinar, “Insights to Inspire the Next Generation of AAPI Marketing Leaders” and I popped my LinkedIn profile in the chat for people attending to connect with me. After we scheduled a virtual meeting to introduce ourselves, I was immediately impressed by everything she has done from organizing TedX talks, being a mother of two children, and speaking to underrepresented communities on how to get a job in the industry as she is one of the very few Asian creatives in an executive role trailblazing the way.
When we co-founded Asians in Advertising in March 2021, we had no idea it would have grown to what it is today. With over 3,000 people in our global community, we focus on creating a community full of networking opportunities for people to connect across roles and disciples, elevating them throughout their career with resources and professional development, and showcasing API professionals by amplifying their presence in features and speaking opportunities.
Last Fall, Wiley, an American multinational publishing company, reached out to Bernice and me to ask if we are interested in writing a book for the Asian community. Fast forward - I am still in shock to say we are both published authors of “The Visibility Mindset: How Asian American Leaders Create Opportunities and Push Past Barriers” being released on November 16, 2022. This makes me reflect back to the academic system and I wish I had this book to read when I was younger because it is an essential career guide for the Asian community and allies to help them overcome barriers and find success in the workplace. Featuring insightful interviews from Asian leaders and advice throughout, the book explores a variety of myths, stereotypes, and problems faced by Asian American professionals—including the bamboo ceiling and the model minority myth—and how they’ve operated to exclude Asians from the ranks of leadership for decades. It empowers readers to overcome many of these issues and walks through how to elevate your career as you work to open doors that may otherwise remain closed to you.
Our hope is that we can integrate this book into school curriculum and change the future to educate the next generation about the experiences Asian Americans face in the world today, and what we need to do to change it along with how allies can support the community.
