Reflections on AAPI Heritage Month & Our Journey Ahead
Dear Ascend Family,
Our hearts go out to the loved ones of the Pakistani family killed over the weekend in a targeted attack in Ontario, Canada. Our thoughts are also with the Ascend Canada Chapter as our leaders and members there help each other cope with and navigate this difficult situation. Such attacks motivated by hatred underscore the shared experiences of all diverse communities around the world. These hate crimes also reaffirm our commitment to working together as a community to combat all forms of hate and help amplify AAPI voices.
I would like to take a moment to reflect on you, our Ascend community for your invaluable contributions to the important work we are doing.
Our volunteer leaders, staff and corporate partners have worked tirelessly within their companies and on behalf of Ascend in the months leading up to the AAPI Heritage Month in May. Your efforts have allowed us to deliver an extraordinarily successful month of celebrating our AAPI heritage and bringing awareness to the myriad issues affecting our communities. I am immensely proud of the courage and resilience our community continues to demonstrate in the face of adversity. Thank you!
The critical work that we are doing now is a continuation and amplification of Ascend’s longstanding history of building and empowering holistic Pan-Asian leaders to reach our individual and collective potential and make greater workplace and societal impacts.
I am proud to share that the national media and the public is recognizing Ascend as a thought leader and a credible advocate for AAPI’s in the workplace. Here are just a few recent examples:
ABC7 News: Asian American leaders find 'bamboo ceiling' tough to crack for promotions
Business Insider: Asian Americans still aren't reaching the C-suite — and it all comes down to promotions.
CNBC: AAPI women have the smallest pay gap—but that stat ‘masks’ big economic disparities, say experts
CNBC: How the model minority myth holds Asian Americans back at work—and what companies should do[RS1]
Forbes: Who Owns The AAPI Brand? From Stereotypes to Stories
New York Times: The Cost of Being an ‘Interchangeable Asian’
Yahoo Finance: Asian Americans represent 4.4% of Fortune 1000 boards: RPT
In addition to the impactful programs organized by our chapters during the Heritage Month, we have:
Together, these initiatives are a testament to Ascend’s promise to deliver on our commitments. In the coming weeks, I look forward to sharing regular updates on our current and future initiatives and the progress we are making with your ongoing support.
Since the first reported spike in anti-Asian hate crimes in March 2020 and in particular the last few months, I have been actively meeting with CEOs, executive leadership teams, and speaking at organization-wide gatherings to educate all on our AAPI history; anti-Asian hate issues; the challenges we face in the workplace and society at large; and the changes we collectively, regardless of our racial identity, need to make to build a more inclusive and equitable workplace and society.
In the month of May, U.S. passed the hate crimes bill in response to the increasing violence against the APPI community. The collective voices and actions from our communities and allies have brought us to this long overdue moment.
The first anniversary of George Floyd’s murder on May 25th reminded me that our work to achieve racial equity and equality is far from done, and that it is through allyship within and across communities, in not seeing ourselves as separate from others, that we will be able to effect sustainable change for all. And, during this June Pride Month, I encourage you to demonstrate your allyship by honoring LGBTQ+ voices and experiences and by bringing attention to the issues that the members of the community continue to face.
As we begin to re-emerge from the pandemic here in North America, many others around the world, especially in India, are still suffering from the crisis of surging COVID cases. Please join me in continuing to support the people of India as we focus on the wellbeing of our fellow human beings around the world.
I am often asked where I find the energy and inspiration for my Ascend and community work. This is 100% personal for me and not work. It is my desire to create a safer society for my rapidly aging 88-year-old father, a more equitable workplace for my 20-year-old daughter Jordan, and a more welcoming future for 4-year-old Zane, my neighbor’s Black/Latinx/White son whom I often babysit, that fuels my work with you and the community.
Every day, I am also deeply grateful to, and for, our Ascend family. You are also one of my greatest inspirations, and what keeps me going day in and day out, I invite you to reflect on your own inspirations and hopes for the journey ahead. If you wish to share your inspirations for your Ascend work with our community, please submit here.
I know this continues to be a time of great stress and exhaustion for many of us as we are internalizing and reflecting on what it means to be a person of Asian descent, worry about the safety of our friends and family, and start transitioning to an in-person work environment. Please take advantage of your Ascend network – one of our greatest resources – to continue to form relationships and strengthen bonds that are going to sustain us for the work ahead and to support you and your well-being. Our hard work of sustaining and amplifying the progress we have made is just the beginning. Let us renew our commitment to each other, and to our collective work of building a more just, equitable and inclusive workplace and society.
I look forward to seeing you at our future programs.
With Gratitude,
Anna W. Mok
President and Executive Board Chair,
Ascend & Ascend Foundation
