Zanoon Nissar Zanoon Nissar

Standing with the AAPI + Women Community

Women4Good’s community calls center our community and make space for whatever our community may need. Recognizing the current movement for collective racial reckoning and the ever more surfacing of challenges within the AAPI community, and in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, our May event was a community call “Standing with the AAPI +  Women Community.”

Our intentions for the call were threefold: 

  • Acknowledge trauma--not only from the spike in hate crimes since the start of the pandemic, but also the long term trauma that may have been buried, laying underneath the surface, as well as intergenerational trauma. 

  • Connect allies--to each other, and to the AAPI community, to AAPIs in the lives of allies who may not be present on the call.

  • Shift the narrative--celebrate AAPIs and find ways to recognize and honor the contributions and impact of the AAPI community.

We shared some fast facts on the AAPI community to ground our conversation: 

  • The AAPI community contains a diaspora. Asia itself has more than 40 countries spanning Central Asia, East Asia, Hawaii and Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. And all these countries and regions have different histories, languages, and cultures. While there is uniqueness beneath the AAPI grouping, there is also political power in the collective.

  • Asians are the racial or ethnic group with the widest income disparity, in a direct debunking of the myth of the model minority. Asians in the top 10% of income distribution earn more than 10X as much as Asians in the bottom 10%. 

  • AAPIs are the fastest growing minority group in the US, projected to surpass 46M in 2060. 

  • AAPIs face a glass ceiling that is 3.7X harder to crack, despite overall strong representation in corporate America. Systemic structures, stereotypes, and microaggressions all contribute to this.

  • While AAPI hate crimes are far from new, more than 6K hate crimes committed against AAPIs have been reported since the start of the pandemic, with a significant spike in March 2021, covering incidents in both 2020 and 2021, underscoring the likelihood that the total number of hate crimes is underreported. 

With this backdrop, it’s important to not only make space for AAPIs but also facilitate true allyship. 

We referenced the Guide to Allyship, a starter guide written by Amélie Lamont. We wanted to emphasize how being an ally requires much more than simply showing support or standing in solidarity. To be an ally is to:

  • Take on the struggle as your own.

  • Transfer the benefits of your privilege to those who lack it.

  • Amplify voices of the oppressed before your own.

  • Acknowledge that even though you feel pain, the conversation is not about you.

  • Stand up, even when you feel scared.

  • Own your mistakes and de-center yourself.

  • Understand that your education is up to you and no one else.

As an ally, “there is much to unlearn and learn—mistakes are expected. You need to own this as fact and should be willing to embrace the daily work of doing better. As an ally, you need to own your mistakes and be proactive in your education, every day.” - from the Guide to Allyship

With that in mind, we wanted to highlight some of the most impactful AAPI talent and their contributions. We shared a video made by Google in partnership with Gold House, a collective of AAPI founders, creative voices, and leaders working towards authentic representation.

We were inspired and moved by what our community shared in the breakout room discussions. Here’s just some of what we heard: 

  • “As an AAPI, I feel like I have more questions than answers at this point. It’s all very overwhelming.”

  • “As an ally, I’m angered and outraged. I don’t know how to translate that into support without overwhelming and overburdening my loved ones who are AAPI.”

  • “Asian culture has been known to get through hard and uncomfortable times  silently, with their heads down. I’d like to see that change. I’m already seeing a change and I’m proud of my fellow AAPIs.”

While Asian Pacific American Heritage Month may be over, the work clearly extends beyond the month of May. Our list of resources is available to all. We encourage everyone to celebrate and uplift AAPIs throughout the year. 


Read More