Researchers have hypothesized that stereotypes of Asian Americans may negatively influence the perception of their ability and likelihood of success in managerial and leadership positions (Cheng & Thatchenkery, 1997; Wong & Nagasawa, 1991). Stereotypes of Asian Americans as hard workers, technical nerds, uncomplaining, docile, and quiet have lead to the perception of Asian Americans as a good labor source. It also leads to the expectation that Asian Americans lack the ability to successfully manage. In a society that prizes individuality, where leaders are exemplified by the traditionally WASP prototype, stereotypes of Asian Americans are highly disconcordant with these ideals. This stereotype has at times lead to exploitation of Asian American employees and also the lower likelihood that Asian American professionals would be considered by decision makers for management positions (Park, 1996). The psychological effects of stereotypes on the career choices and decisions of Asian Americans, such as stereotype threat (Steele, 1997), and stigma consciousness (Pinel, 1999) will be discussed in further detail [below].

The existing stereotype of Asian Americans is that they are highly qualified as scientists and engineers but do not have the essential attributes for managerial positions (Wong & Nagasawa, 1991). Among all racial groups (including Whites), Asian American professionals have the lowest likelihood of advancing into management positions (Der, Lye, & Ting, 1992; Wong & Nagasawa, 1991). Asian Americans are more than three times as likely to be scientists and engineers as their percentage representation in the general population (Wong & Nagasawa, 1991). There is a pattern of education facilitating entry into professional fields, over-representation in the technical fields, and under-representation in managerial and executive positions in the hightechnology and corporate worlds (Duleep & Sanders, 1992; Tang, 1993; Woo, 1994).

Specifically, Asian American males are strongly represented as professionals in the workforce (of all professionals) (23%), while they are underrepresented in executive managerial positions (14%) (Woo, 1994). Asian American females represented 17% of professional jobs but were less likely to be represented as executives or managers (12%) (Woo, 1994). In a study of Asian Indian Americans, it was found that Asian Indian Americans, both immigrant and native-born, were less likely to be managers even if they were comparable to U.S.-born white males in their human capital, assimilation, and labor market characteristics (Fernandez, 1998). In addition, those Asian Americans who reached the middle or upper-levels of management received lower economic returns relative to whites occupying similar positions (Wong & Nagasawa, 1991).

According to the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission (1995), Asian Americans were found to encounter an “impenetrable glass” ceiling. Little is known about the determinants of their economic status and patterns of career mobility once they have entered the professional world (Wong & Nagasawa, 1991). Lower returns on education, as evidenced by lower salaries, lower likelihood of promotions into managerial positions, and lower power and authority in managerial positions, especially in the higher end professional and technical fields, seems to support the existence of a glass ceiling for Asian Americans (Federal Glass Ceiling Commission, 1995). This glass ceiling is not simply conceptualized as a disparity, but rather closely follows Cotter and colleagues (2001) operationalization of the effect using the four criteria.

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Some culturally specific moderating variables relevant to the career experiences and choices of Asian Americans are generational status, ethnic identity and perceived minority status. Generational status refers to the number of generations that ones’ family has lived in the country. Ethnic identity refers to one’s sense of belonging as part of an ethnic group and includes tho se aspects of the self such as beliefs, perspectives, attitudes, feelings and behaviors that are derived from ethnic group membership (Leong & Serafica, 1995). Perceived minority status is one’s perception that his ethnic group, in addition to being a numerical minority, is also discriminated against and even oppressed (Leong & Serafica, 1995). Although these factors are not all- inclusive, these three factors are often mentioned variables specific to the Asian American experience.

To illustrate, perceived minority status may have a damaging psychological effect on career self-efficacy and development because it suggests that ability, hard work, and perseverance are not enough to bring about career success (Leong & Serafica, 1995). Individuals with different levels of perceived minority status may attribute different explanations for similar incidents (such as failing to receive a promotion) and may react differently to the same type of incidents. Those with high levels of perceived minority status would more likely have adverse reactions to career setbacks. This is an interesting variable to explore with an Asian American sample due to the direct contrast to the model minority thesis, which suggests that Asian Americans have and will continue to advance through high ability, a strong work ethic and persistence. It may also be that individuals who are in the early stages of their career have a vastly different view than those later in their careers who may have already encountered a glass ceiling effect.

A related issue that may be affected by perceived minority status is occupational choice. Research has found that Asian Americans are highly over-represented in technical fields and “hard” sciences (i.e. computer science, chemistry, physics) and under-represented in the social sciences and other fields (i.e. sociology, law, sales) involving more social interaction (e.g. Hsia, 1988; Leong, 1998). Occupational stereotypes based on race can affect the perceptions of Asian Americans on the probability of the ir success in occupations in which they are under-represented (Leong & Hayes, 1990). In addition, Asian Americans’ reactions to their minority status may be one possible explanation for this pattern of occupational segregation. As a minority in the U.S., Asian Americans are more likely to experience barriers in advancement due to racism and discrimination, which could have prompted selection of occupations high in prestige as a means of ensuring success in the social system (Leong & Hardin, 2002). In addition to examining how barriers to career opportunities are related to surface level minority group membership (i.e. skin color), it is also important to examine how self perceptions of minority status affect perceptions of career opportunities (Leong & Hardin, 2002), which may in turn affect career decisions that alter one’s career path.

In addition to those factors proposed by career development researchers, two psychological constructs are relevant to predicting how Asian Americans may be affected by and react to stereotyped situations. The first psychological concept is stigma consciousness (Pinel, 1999), which refers to individual differences in the extent to which a target of a stereotype expects to be stereotyped by others, and this has consequences on the subsequent behavior of the target and also on interpersonal interactions. Individuals differ as to their perceptions of the probability of being stereotyped, which could have important implications for how targets experience and behave in stereotype-relevant situations. Stigma consciousness is relevant to the target’s expectation of being stereotyped, regardless of the target’s actual behavior. Individuals belonging to the same stereotyped group do not all experience their stereotyped status in the same way, and this is related to their individual level of stigma consciousness (Pinel, 2002).

If Asian Americans expect to be negatively stereotyped in certain occupations (i.e. sales) or positions (i.e. manager), they can be affected by invasive thoughts of how others perceive them. It has been found that individuals who expect to be treated negatively (i.e. those high in stigma consciousness) often elicit negative reactions from others (i.e. Pinel, 2002), and this may have negative cumulative consequences in the long run. In addition, being high on stigma consciousness may affect Asian Americans’ career choices and decisions, such as avoiding occupations that are associated with negative stereotypes or avoiding high authority positions that may lead to career advancement. Individuals high in stigma consciousness will avoid stereotype relevant domains: that is, forgo opportunities to invalidate stereotypes about their groups (Pinel, 1999). It is possible that Asian Americans make career decisions tha t are influenced by their level of stigma consciousness, and those higher in stigma consciousness may make decisions that have a negative impact on their career development.