How labels hide the real data on diversity

Exciting news! We’re in the process of revamping our newsletter. We’ll have brand new content for you soon. In the meantime, we’re reposting this edition of Simply Diversity that was originally published on May 11th, 2022.

Welcome to Simply Diversity. This bimonthly letter breaks down key diversity concepts and explains how you can apply them... simply. There are plenty of terms heard ‘round the Internet as we prioritize diversity, inclusion and belonging in everything we do. This newsletter explains what these concepts are, why they’re important, and how to practice them.?

AANHPI.?

Do you know what that acronym stands for??

If you live in the United States, you might recognize it. Or, you might think, that looks a lot like AAPI. But if you don’t consume much media from the U.S., AANHPI is likely meaningless.

AANHPI stands for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander. In the U.S., the acronym encompasses an enormously diverse group of individuals — just take a look at this US Census breakdown to get a sense of the scope!?

May is AANHPI Heritage Month in the U.S.; this is a great time to celebrate and to commemorate, and the PBS documentary Asian Americans is a place to start.

It’s also a time to recognize how insufficient labels are.?

Break it down:?

A deeper look at the pay equity data for AANHPI women makes it clear that Asian American women are NOT a homogenous group, including when it comes to pay:?

[Source: Business Insider]

Indian and Burmese women are categorized as “Asian,” yet what they earn compared to non-Hispanic white men is vastly different. I suspect there’s as much if not more of a pay range within each subgroup — these are averages, after all.?

It makes me wonder: does pay data for women of Middle Eastern descent get calculated in the U.S.? There’s no Middle Eastern Women’s Pay Day, yet Afghanistan and Syrian women are not represented in the table above.?

This is the problem with using broad labels like “women,” “Asian,” or “disabled.”?

• Not all women experience bias in the same way
• Not all Asian women experience bias in the same way
• Not all Asian, disabled women experience bias in the same way

And so on. Labels are insufficient because they fail to capture the myriad intersecting identities we all hold. This is particularly challenging and painful for multiracial individuals. If one of your parents is Black, and one Asian, and you were raised by your Mandarin-speaking grandmother — what box do you check on the census, or in your company’s diversity surveys? Do you ever feel like your whole identity is recognized and celebrated??

May is also Jewish American Heritage month, and that’s another label that covers a diverse group of individuals with intersecting identities. Black people are Jewish. Asian people are Jewish. Disabled people are Jewish. Poor people are Jewish.?

Speaking of which: there’s no “heritage month” for one of the most far-reaching yet seldom addressed identities that experiences bias: socioeconomic class. (As many of you know, we’re coming up on one year since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, which disproportionately impacts poor and working class women, regardless of their other identities.)

Do Something Different:

Alright Stacey, you’re thinking. You hate labels. What do you want me to do?

Let me be clear: I’m not AGAINST labels. They are useful to understand, in broad strokes, what identities your country, company, or school encompass. They are important for recognizing where unconscious bias might be at play.

But they are not sufficient.?

1. Subdivide your data. If you are conducting surveys in your company to understand the identities and experiences of your employees (and you should!), don’t stop at “women,” “Asian,” or “disabled.” If you have a large number of AANHPI employees at your company, excellent. Dig a little deeper: is pay equitable by gender? Are Burmese, Nepalese, and Hmong people represented? If not, what can you do to expand recruiting efforts to these communities?
2. Evolve your leadership. Words like empathy, authentic, and mindful never used to be considered “leadership traits.” But that’s changing! And for you to be the most inclusive leader possible, you must cultivate these traits in yourself and your team. In my course Addressing Unconscious Bias as a Leader , you’ll learn how to create inclusive cultures that let all people, of all their many labels, find success and belonging on your team and at your company. You can take the course for free through the end of the month as part of LinkedIn’s new learning path: DEI for Senior Leaders. You can learn more about this learning path and take the course here .

About Stacey Gordon and Rework Work:

Stacey Gordon is Executive Advisor and Diversity Strategist of Rework Work where she and her team coach and counsel executive leaders on DEI strategies for business, while offering a no-nonsense approach to unconscious bias education for the broader employee population. Stacey’s unconscious bias course was the most popular course on LinkedIn Learning platform in 2021 and it has also been translated into multiple languages. Stacey is also the founder and host of the Rework Work Community , a free diversity, equity, and inclusion learning and practice space for professionals. You can find Stacey’s book, UNBIAS: Addressing Unconscious Bias at Work , at Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, and wherever books are sold.