In a world where global corporations aim for diversity and inclusion, there remains a glaring disparity: the underrepresentation of Asians in senior leadership roles.
This topic took center stage during the AcornOak Community Gathering led by Sung Hee Han, Fractional Chief Cross-Cultural Officer and Executive Coach of Asian Leadership Consulting.
The discussion highlighted a simple yet profound question: Why are there not many Asians in senior leadership positions in global corporations?
The Silent Leadership Qualities of Asian Leaders
Asian leaders have made their mark in various sectors, from tech giants like Eric Yuan of Zoom and Lisa Su of AMD to Sundar Pichai of Google and Satya Nadella of Microsoft.
Their successes re-evaluate the typical stereotypes surrounding Asian leadership qualities.
Despite their remarkable achievements, the journey to top executive roles is often fraught with cultural barriers that hinder many Asians from reaching their full potential at global corporations.
Although Asians make up around 13% of the U.S. professional workforce, they hold only 1.5% of Fortune 500 corporate officer roles. This disparity is even more pronounced for Asian women, who make up less than 1% of promotions into the C-suite.
Additionally, more than half of Fortune 1000 company Boards have no Asian directors. (Chen J. and Cheng-Cimini A., ‘Stop overlooking the Potential of Asian Employees’ HBR, June 2024).
A highly cited 2015 report on diversity in Silicon Valley by an Asian professional organization found that at five big tech firms (Google, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, LinkedIn, and Yahoo), Asians and Asian Americans are well represented in lower-level positions but underrepresented in management and executive levels. Asian Americans (including Indians) are 27% of the workers in these companies but only 19% of managers and 14% of executives. (Johnson, S. and Thoms, S., ‘Why aren’t there more Asian Americans in the leadership positions?’, HBR, December 2016)
Why such a disparity?
One cultural challenge revolves around the value of humility, a deeply rooted quality in many Asian societies.
Unlike Western cultures, where self-promotion is seen as a vital ingredient for career success, Asian cultures often prioritize collective accomplishments and humility. The common refrain of "It was our team's work. Everyone helped" embodies this ethos.
In the West, however, the emphasis is on highlighting individual strengths and confidently showcasing one's contributions.
In my 25 years of experience, I have observed repeatedly that many Asian leaders feel their contributions are not recognized, resulting in missed promotion opportunities. Despite being highly capable and performing at a high level, they often feel uncomfortable advocating for themselves, leading to underestimating their contributions.
Even though most are aware of East-West cultural differences and how they manifest themselves in the workplace, they often need to learn to navigate the differences in an authentic way, while leveraging their own inherent Asian strengths.
The Cultural Disconnect
Another possible reason for this gap could be cultural differences.
Cultural differences between East and West aren't just surface-level—they affect how individuals approach career growth, recognition, and leadership.
East Asian cultures often emphasize self-improvement through self-criticism, while Western cultures prize self-confidence and focus on strengths.
This fundamental difference leads to misconceptions and misunderstandings in global work environments, where Asians may be perceived as less assertive or ambitious compared to their Western counterparts.
A striking illustration of this cultural difference is seen in the concept of the "Asian Grade Scale," where high expectations are placed on success and performance.
However, the pursuit of excellence often involves focusing on what needs improvement rather than celebrating strengths. This cultural tendency can lead to underestimating abilities, even when talent is apparent.
Bridging the Cultural Gap: A Path to a Truly Inclusive Leadership
To overcome these barriers, both East and West must make efforts to understand each other's cultural values, rather than expecting one side to adapt entirely.
True diversity in leadership requires recognizing the unique strengths that different cultural perspectives bring to the table.
For Asian leaders, this means learning to comfortably assert their individual contributions. For Western leaders, it involves fostering an environment where humility is seen as an asset, not a weakness.
In the last five years, I’ve specialized my consulting and coaching service to help organizations and individuals navigate these cultural differences effectively.
Using personalized 1:1 coaching, group sessions, or interactive workshops, my goal is to empower Asian leaders to identify their unique approach to navigating cultural differences while leveraging their strengths and maintaining high performance.
At the same time, I also provide Western leaders with insights to recognize blind spots and biases that arise from a lack of understanding of these distinct cultural dynamics and help them become more inclusive leaders.
It's not about one side conforming to the other; it's about bridging the gap between East and West and finding common ground. Together, we can create a more inclusive and effective leadership landscape.
Moving Forward Together
The path forward lies in building bridges, not walls.
Embracing cultural nuances and fostering a better understanding of each other can help dismantle the barriers holding talented individuals back from reaching leadership roles.
The AcornOak discussion gave us a powerful reminder: real inclusion starts when we learn about each other's ways of "being" in the world and value both self-confidence and collective humility.
If you want to dive deeper into understanding these cultural dynamics and how they impact leadership, I invite you to check out resources like yangliudesign.com and soc119.org, which offer visual insights into the contrasts between East and West.
You can also connect with me to explore ways to advance your career or enhance diversity within your organization.
About the Author
Sung Hee Han
Fractional Chief Cross-Cultural Officer and Executive Coach
Sung Hee is an ICF-certified executive coach with over 20 years of global leadership experience in Fortune 500 companies. She specializes in FMCG and Hi-Tech and empowers senior leaders to enhance their impact, manage stakeholders, and drive DE&I initiatives.
With expertise in cross-cultural leadership, she has conducted over 1,300 coaching sessions since 2019, helping organizations cultivate inclusive and effective teams, and navigate complex global dynamics.
Read her story here.
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