Much has already been written about the bamboo ceiling as an invisible barrier to professional advancement for Australians with an Asian cultural background.
In a recent post published on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/bamboo-ceiling-asian-talent-missing-from-boardroom-asx-kylie-hammond?trk=hp-feed-article-title-comment), Kylie Hammond, CEO of Director Institute, reiterates what we already know, i.e. there is very low representation of Asian executives in leadership positions and in the boardroom.
In theory, it makes sense to have diversity of representation, whether it is gender, and/or cultural difference. It is now beyond anecdotal evidence that a diverse workplace is good for business. So, why is there still a perceived reticence in embracing diversity at the higher echelon of leadership and business?
It can be very difficult to alter one’s business and philosophical mindset especially when it has been successfully implemented for generations.
Change, however, is an evolutionary process. It is therefore natural to treat change with caution. But even when there is an economic incentive for change, it is often a very slow process of shifting the emphasis from exclusion to inclusion especially when there are fewer role models to champion the process.
It may be trite to say that many businesses don’t know what they don’t know. Yet, it is true when one is comfortable and not challenged for survival. Businesses in that frame of mindset are possibly shielded in part from the ravages of competition from a rapidly growing Asian economy because they are within their own microcosm of enterprise. It has not hurt their bottom-line so they are happy to remain in maintenance mode.
Businesses seeking to capitalise the opportunities in the Asian century, however, need to recognise that remaining static in the comfort zone of one’s business environment will likely lead to commercial extinction. Sustaining the stream of future revenues is no longer viable if there is no positive creative process put in place for a change of mindset to embrace diversity of thought so as to move from maintenance mode to growth mode to capture the expectations of a diverse consumer market.
From a practical view-point, Hammond pointedly suggests businesses could apply two key criteria to address the lack of diversity of thought, and diversity in perspectives and cultures.
· Develop a skills matrix to fill in the gaps
· Specifically, develop a diversity criteria to bring in fresh dynamic talent
But in practice, it remains for most a challenge in the boardroom partly due to a fear of the unknown, and partly due to not being invested in embracing the dynamics of cultural change. The key is to take small steps. By developing a skills matrix to consider cultural gaps to fill, businesses are likely to find hidden talent under the radar. Remaining static, however, is no longer a viable economic option, as others will find the best talent out there first.
Conversely, rationalising that an invincible barrier hinders the rise of talented people continues to reinforce negative stereotypes of minorities. The bamboo ceiling has likely reached its full height. It is time to scale the ladder of equality of opportunity and move from rhetoric to action.
At a talk on Cultural diversity in the workplace at Herbert Smith Freehills’ Melbourne office on 11 March 2016, Commissioner Tim Southphommasane observed that:
· Champions of gender diversity have skin in the game and embrace diversity because they want to see equality of opportunity for their children
· Some rationalise that there is a lack of bandwidth as the reason for not seeing greater representation in leadership and the boardroom
Leaders in the boardroom need to consider getting skin in the game otherwise there will not be any discernible improvement. Perhaps the starting point is for Chair-persons on Australian boards to champion and afford the opportunity to willing and able Asian Australian talents a chance to be included in the boardroom or in leadership positions.
While it is not surprising that there are fewer Asian Australians at the upper echelon of leadership and business, Leaders in the boardroom can speed up the process of identifying, developing and nurturing the pool of younger Asian Australian talents by offering a pathway of advancement for them.
Reality TV has been an equalising platform to discover a rainbow of hidden talents. For example, many talented characters of color emerged from programs like Australian Idol, X Factor and Master Chef. This suggests that by increasing bandwidth there will likely be more balanced representation of talent from a wider spectrum of talent.
The more visible diversity becomes, the more likely we will see Asian Australian talent rising up to the occasion.