Let’s be frank, for some people, a management position is not all it is cracked up to be…
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Asians do want it, however due to racial prejudice they lose out. Glass ceiling prevented them from these positions 
Is it really racial prejudice? Are Asians trying hard enough to acquire management skills and spending enough time to network?
Asians are also underrepresented in janitorial jobs. Why are there no studies to prove it?
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Hmmm, not so sure about that. A lot of Asians, and not necessarily Asians, don’t like to manage people. They prefer to be individual contributors, as opposed to having to do performance reviews and not being able to sleep at night due to some managing issue. I should know…
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That’s only an excuse. And plenty of Asians can’t obtain management positions due to racism.
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No excuse. Real. Life. Facts. I’m in it. You are not…
You also need to be able to network easily. Both inside your firm and outside. And this doesn’t come naturally to first-gen or sometimes even 2nd-gen immigrants.
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Um… given how you have behaved on this forum obviously you are no management material. Better stick with what you are best at…
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Certainly true for me.
Managing people is an exhausting job and not much fun for me.
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There are plenty of non-Asians that don’t want to be managers too. It’s not black and white, but it does seem like there is an element of discrimination here.
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Dude,
I like you. I like you a lot. But please do me a favor and chime in on something that you have actual personal experience with. If you were a boss at one time, fine, that works. If you are freaking outside of the workforce, how would you know what goes on inside of the corporate world?
That’s not quite the logic… if you used to be an Olympic swimming champion but now retired, does that mean you don’t know how to swim anymore?
Many factors at play here.
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Soft skills: this isnt the language per se, but being able to be persuasive, and playing political tactics werent part of Asian’s education. Asians that know to how to do this are rarely in tech (law firms, consulting, etc instead). So Asian techies naturally lose out.
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Fear: once ure in management, it’s hard to come back to ic roles. You’ll just be rusty at ic tasks. OTOH, you see managers that get pushed out all the time while there are a bunch of older ICs. White male can (or think they can) weather the layoff and see a management role as an opportunity, while Asians see it as a risk.
Otoh, staying at IC when your peers get into management can hurt your ego. I’ve seen an intern later becoming the manager of the guy who used to be interns boss. Things like this happens all the time, especially at young tech companies. I feel this is one of the largest motivations for Asians going up for promo, into management etc.
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Sure, you may know how to swim, but the real question is do you want to do it anymore? Many people that I have worked with over the years, Asian or not, have point blank told me, management was not for them. They tried it, hated it and would not go back if offered. Sure, I am not denying that some discrimination is present but to be fair a lot of people also don’t want it too. That’s all I am saying. If you want it, be it you are purple, yellow, or pink skinned, then go for it and hopefully the opportunity is there for you.
Yes, managers require a lot more networking and cultural assimilation than individual contributors. That’s where the racism comes in… because many Asians grew up under the Asian culture which is very different from America. So they have to overcome much more obstacles to perform as a manager. So in the end they failed to excel more than their white counterparts.
But whose actual fault is that? The company’s???
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Is it also these companies’ fault that women and minorities are underrepresented? If so, then your question is already answered.
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Come on, stay on point. You introduced the point about Asians growing up in a culture that unfortunately made them perhaps inadequate for a management role. I just countered (rightfully so, since I can’t think what other thoughts are going through your brain) that is that the company’s fault.
You countered with what? That it wasn’t these companies’ fault that few Asians could obtain management positions due to cultural barriers? I’m not here to blame these companies or Asian employees themselves. I just stating the facts as to why Asians are underrepresented in management. If you don’t think these facts are truthful then maybe you should try to excel and become a manager, and see if cultural barrier is or isn’t an issue
This is where I always bring in Big Brother. He is a practicing engineer of over 30 years. I believe he told me he is the #1 or #2 technical guy. I saw a patent plaque at his home a long time ago. Is he a manager? No. Was the opportunity there for him, even today? Absolutely yes. Did he ever want it? In his words actually, F*** no!!! The fact is, he makes more money and sleeps quite better as a non manager.