CNN recently featured an opinion piece calling attention to the issue of racial bias against Asians in the United States. After a study released by Wharton, Columbia and New York Universities revealed discriminating perceptions of Asian students in academia, Helen Wan, author and advocate for diversity and inclusion, wrote on the matter in her CNN article The Surprising Racial Bias against Asians.
Researchers from the universities experimented in a mass student-to-professor email to test racial and gender bias in the classroom. Researchers wrote a message that was uniformly distributed to over 6,500 faculty members, omitted their identities and instead signed with names of students, using ones that can be affiliated with race or gender.
Results showed professors were most likely to respond to white males and frequently ignored emails that were signed from Asian students.
“The study highlights the pernicious nature of the ‘model minority’ stereotype of Asians, and the fact that Asians are still viewed as the most foreign ‘other’ in our American culture,”wrote Wan. “Perhaps the biggest outsiders in the politics of ‘not like us.’”
Asian students are assumed naturally ahead of the academic curve and don’t require the same mentoring as others groups may need. So, many lack the educational backing to advance their studies.
While few stereotypes portray minorities favorably, it can still disadvantage members of the group. The cultural gap in the scholastic community is widening and stranding minorities in academic moratorium.
The Model Minority myth is of the issues addressed in 100 Questions and Answers About East Asian Cultures. Among other topics, the cultural competency guide delves into complicated matters and offers readers an opportunity to have questions answered at their own discretion.
