Empowering Stereotypes

STEM and them: Asian Americans and the challenges they face in the field

written by Yeleeya Li

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The STEM field: a highly esteemed branch of studies involving logic, problem solving, research and healthcare meant to propel humanity forward with innovation. And within the STEM field, there is one minority race that seems to dominate all: Asians.

Seen as being “naturally smart” and having an easier time than others in academics, this stereotype seems to hold true. Asians have the highest average SAT scores, MCAT scores and GPAs of all racial groups. While Asians make up only 6% of the workforce in the United States, they make up 17% of all STEM workers, making them “overrepresented” in terms of overall numbers. Though many Asians are successful in STEM careers, these statistics and generalizations don’t tell the entire story.

Generational Challenges

Within the STEM field, the Pew Research Center reported that American-born Asians only make up 18% of the Asian workforce. This discrepancy is clearly mirrored today.

Larry Lee, a physics professor at the University of Tennessee, finds that while there are many Asians in his current field, he’s the only American-born Asian in his department. This disproportionality is also seen at many other universities, including the University of Florida.

While initially these numbers may seem a little odd, they do make sense. The experiences of foreign-born and Americanborn Asian Americans are vastly different.

Dr. Lee stated, “In Asia, they have come up in a system where they’re not the minority […] and clearly don’t have the same experience as those of us who did come up in a White-dominated culture here in the US.” Philip Chang, a professor in the UF Physics department, agreed. Though he was born in the U.S., Chang grew up in Korea and sees himself as more of a first-generation immigrant than a secondgeneration immigrant.

While first-generation immigrants often have to deal with issues like language barriers, cultural differences and assimilation, Asian Americans raised in the predominantly white culture of the U.S. tend to face issues with identity and fitting in. Akhilesh Makam, a third year computer science major at UF, described his high school experience at a predominantly white Catholic school. “If I ever brought Indian food, there would be one or two kids who would be like, ‘Ew that’s disgusting!’[…] Once I got out of high school I realized how much damage got to me.” Microaggressions and culturally insensitive remarks carry on with people as they grow older, impacting self esteem and self perception.

Gender Challenges

In STEM careers, only 28% of STEM workers are women, and even less are gender minorities. Non-males in STEM are often questioned, talked down upon and dismissed more than their male peers. For Asians, this prejudice may even be worse, as Asian women make up the smallest percentage of scientists and engineers employed in the U.S. by race and gender.

Hailey Pham, a first year computer science major, explained that she has experienced more prejudice in STEM due to her gender than her race. “In my high school classes, I was the only girl taking compsci, but by no means was I the only Asian…I feel like a lot of the time, I get questioned if I know what I’m doing.” Pham is not alone. In a survey of doctorate students conducted by Caltech, Asian American women felt they needed to prove themselves to a much greater degree than women of any other ethnic group. Perhaps it is the pre-existing disadvantages towards women in STEM paired with racial stereotypes that set high expectations for Asians women, creating a paradox where Asian women are expected to fail because of their gender and succeed because of their race.

For those who identify as a gender minority, their treatment may be even worse than women. Ashly Almendrala, a second year microbiology major, who identifies as nonbinary but presents as masculine, said “People’s initial reactions to me as a person is sometimes disheartening because I can tell in their face that they’re kind of disgusted because of the way I identify.” This kind of treatment of gender minorities is not rare, and the National Institute for Health finds that gender minorities have a very low rate of retention in STEM fields despite having the same academic qualifications. For many, coming out means facing the discomfort of being asked intrusive questions and not being taken seriously.

Support

Despite all these challenges, finding a support system can help students with these struggles in the STEM field.

For some like Yusra Ahmed, a third year public health major, it lies in joining a club to access more opportunities. Ahmed states that Health Educated Asian Leaders, an Asian interest pre-health organization at UF, was able to connect her with academic resources and help her form study groups, which can be hard to do in classes with over 200 people. As the current Internal Vice President, she hopes that HEAL is able to give them the same sense of support she received.

Makam strongly advised finding a good mentor as well. He joined the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers and got matched to a mentor, who helped introduce him to a variety of leadership opportunities and career-building strategies after he transferred to UF. “If you don’t start immediately [in computer science], then you’ll fall behind ... thanks to my mentor, I was able to get to the point where I’m supposed to be at.” For Makam, having someone who had been through similar situations and was willing to give advice made the road less scary.

For all, it was about finding a community who could accept and uplift them for who they are. This way, they are never truly alone. “There’s definitely still stereotypes here in college,” Makam explained. “If this was my high school, I definitely think it would have negatively impacted me, but I know people now, I have a support system, it doesn’t affect me as much.” A group of people to rely on helps mitigate the social, academic, emotional and financial stresses of school, especially in STEM majors, which requires rigorous coursework and numerous extracurriculars in order to be considered a competitive candidate.

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics. In the ruthless pursuit of hard facts, quantifiable data and unbreakable logic to advance humanity, it’s easy to forget that humans are also the ones behind this innovation and invention. For students navigating the STEM field, constantly surrounded by centuries of ideas, millions of dollars of equipment and state of the art technology, perhaps the key to keeping sane is something much simpler, something much more, well, human. Almendrala said it best. “If there’s a hundred people in the room, it only takes one person to make a difference…My biggest resource was just a friend.”

written by Isabelle Coleman

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