NEW YORK, May 25 (Xinhua) -- East Asian American employees are far less likely to occupy senior leadership roles than South Asian Americans, said a survey conducted mainly among Fortune 500 and other large U.S. companies.
Released on Thursday, Asia Society's 2017 Asian Pacific Americans Corporate Survey found that the probability of participants who identify as East Asian to occupy leadership roles was 17 percent while the figure for South Asian Americans stood at 29 percent.
The annual survey with more than 2,800 Asian and Asian Pacific American participants also showed that East Asian Americans are similarly less likely to be on their employer's leadership track than South Asian Americans.
The gap may be caused by cultural differences between the two groups, with East Asian Americans less likely to push for a promotion or raids, the survey suggests.
"The results of this survey show that employers should be aware of cultural differences among subgroups of APA (Asian Pacific American) employees," said David Whitelaw Reid, executive director of Global Talent Initiatives at Asia Society.
The survey also found evidence of glass ceiling for Asian Pacific American Female employees. Women were significantly less likely to occupy senior leadership roles or be on leadership track than male participants.
"As an Asian American and female, there is a double bind that is felt for this community. If overly vocal, Asian women immediately get called out for being aggressive and non-Asian like," a respondent of the survey noted.
The most frequent challenges respondents cited were lack of role models, lack of professional growth, and lack of career development.
The survey also provides a snapshot of current Asian Pacific American workforce.
Some 40 percent of Asian Pacific American employees at Fortune 500-level companies identify as South Asian, 39 percent as East Asian, 15 percent as Southeast Asian, four percent as being from multiple regions while one percent as Pacific Islanders, said the survey.
According to the survey, 36 percent are between ages of 18 and 35, 52 percent are ages 36 to 52, while 12 percent are ages 53 to 71.
