Discrimination against Asian American women with disabilities is rooted in our flawed history
Last week, the National Women’s Law Center filed amicus briefs in support of Dr. Vivian Chan in her ongoing lawsuit against the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).
Dr. Cheung is a pediatric neurologist and molecular biologist responsible for cutting-edge research into the genetics of complex medical conditions. As an Asian American woman, it’s so, so great to see Asian American women being leaders in their fields.
Ten years ago, Dr. Chan ironically discovered that she had a rare genetic disease that didn’t even have a name. And her employer, HHMI, refused to renew her multimillion-dollar research funding. Believing that HHMI’s decisions had more to do with her race, gender, national origin, and disability than her job, she sued HHMI in Maryland state court for discrimination. Last year, a state court allowed her disability discrimination claim to move forward, but dismissed other discrimination claims.
Our brief argues that when people hold multiple marginalized identities, they experience distinct harms that cannot be understood by looking at each aspect of the identity in isolation. To help the court understand how Dr. Chan’s identity intersects, we look at our country’s shameful past and present discrimination against Asian American women and how it relates to disability and ableism. Discuss how they are related.
The first wave of Asian immigration to the United States in the 1800s occurred because the country needed cheap labor after the abolition of slavery. And when they no longer needed us, they banned us from entering the country.
And when it comes to Asian women, America’s history is even more shameful. The Page Act of 1875 effectively prohibited the entry of women to “China, Japan, or other Oriental countries” on the premise that they “seek entry for indecent or immoral purposes.” And in the mid-1900s, due to U.S. military involvement in Asia, the subsequent sex tourism industry, and the fact that the majority of Asians allowed into the country were women married to U.S. soldiers, Asian American women The view that they exist only for the sake of others has been reinforced. Men’s comfort and satisfaction.
Asian American women in the workplace today often face multiple and contradictory stereotypes. Employers and co-workers see them as high-achieving members of the uncontroversial “model minority,” while fitting into the mold of the subservient “Lotus Flower” or the fierce “Dragon Lady.” I’m looking forward to it. However, conforming to these stereotypes ultimately prevents Asian American women from advancing in the workplace. You’re more likely to be ignored for promotions or perceived as overly aggressive. In short, you can’t win.
Although it may seem benign at first glance, the model minority myth is insidious. Asian Americans are stereotyped as naturally successful at downplaying the effects of discrimination against all people of color. It also erases the hundreds of ethnicities that exist among Asian Americans, confuses Asian Americans with Asians, and flattens them all into a single stereotype of submissive overachievers. For Asian Americans with disabilities like Dr. Chan, this myth means that employers downplay their disability-related needs and make their jobs more difficult if they can’t “meet up” to their inflated expectations. This may also lead to harsh evaluations.
If any of this sounds foreign to you, you’re not alone. Most U.S. history curricula ignore Asian American history. The only example of Asian American history that I was taught before college was about the Japanese American internment camps during World War II, before quickly moving on to D-Day.
If more people knew about our Asian American history and its continuing impact, would the court have allowed Dr. Cheung’s other claims to advance? HHMI Have we decided not to cancel the funding for? I don’t know. But I know I’m less likely to hear my friends say things like, “Well, Asians are basically white,” or “You guys took over our school.”
As I worked on this summary, I had just finished reading On Juneteenth by historian and law professor Annette Gordon Reed. He says origin stories “inform our sense of self.” It tells us what kind of people we believe we are and what kind of country we believe we live in. ”
What happens if the origin story of an entire group is left untold or mistold? What does it tell us about the value we place on ?
In recent years, some states have begun requiring schools to teach Asian American history, which makes sense because Asian American history is American history. And as we wait for the students who are currently learning this history to eventually join the workforce, we hope that they can foster a greater society that empowers and respects Asian Americans, not just in the workplace. I am.
author
Da Hae Kim Senior National Policy Advisor, Education and Workplace Justice
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