Penalized for Personality: A Case Study of Asian-Origin Disadvantage at the Point of Hire

Abstract

Do employers penalize Asian-origin workers for personality-related reasons during real hiring decisions? Current theoretical approaches—the Model Minority Myth perspective and the Heterogeneity approach—provide conflicting predictions as to the nature of an Asian-origin personality penalty, if one exists. Furthermore, evidence of an Asian-origin personality penalty is typically derived from laboratory experiments based on evaluation of fictitious material rather than from real hiring decisions based on face-to-face interviews and hiring deliberations. To fill the empirical gap and resolve theoretical tension, I provide evidence of an Asian-origin personality penalty from a case study of hiring at a Silicon Valley high-technology firm. Drawing from quantitative and qualitative data, I demonstrate how the firm’s decision makers penalize Asian-origin job candidates during hiring decisions for their judged personality traits in a way that does not fully coincide with either theoretical approach, and I propose a theoretical model to describe the personality “content” of the Asian-origin personality penalty as it occurs in real hiring decisions.

Is There a Bamboo Ceiling? The Asian-White Gap in Managerial Attainment for College-Educated Workers

“…The findings are also consistent with a few previous studies, which found no evidence that U.S.-born Asians encountered any bamboo ceiling (Sakamoto and Hsu 2020; Sakamoto et al 2006; Takei et al 2014). They also correspond with previous findings that foreign-educated Asians are significantly disadvantaged in terms of earning and hiring outcomes when they are compared with U.S.-born Whites (e.g., Chavez 2021; Zeng and Xie 2004). Nevertheless, the results indicate that Asian immigrants who have received only higher education in the United States, like wholly foreign-educated Asian immigrants, also lag significantly behind than U.S.-born Whites, and 1.5- and 2nd-generation Asians.…”

“…Where immigrant populations are concerned, studies show that South Asian immigrants are perceived to be little different from Whites in levels of competence and warmth, while East Asian immigrants are perceived to be low in warmth (T. L. Lee and Fiske 2006). Chavez's (2021) study also reports that the decision makers tend to associate foreign-educated Chinese with being cold and socially distant, and associate foreign-educated Indians with aggressiveness. While being aggressive may not always be helpful in acquiring jobs, it is to some extent related to assertiveness, a feature believed to fit for leadership positions.…”

“…L. Lee and Fiske 2006). Chavez’s (2021) study also reports that the decision makers tend to associate foreign-educated Chinese with being cold and socially distant, and associate foreign-educated Indians with aggressiveness. While being aggressive may not always be helpful in acquiring jobs, it is to some extent related to assertiveness, a feature believed to fit for leadership positions.…”

“…East Asians are often viewed as the "typical" Asians in the eyes of Whites (J. C. Lee and Ramakrishnan 2020). Thus, they are likely to suffer more from negative stereotypes associated with Asians from employers than South Asians, as Koji Chavez's (2021) recent case study at a hightech company showed that Chinese, instead of Indians, were perceived to be lacking in assertiveness by the decision makers.…”

From Anti-China Rhetoric to Anti-Asian Behavior: The Social and Economic Cost of "Kung Flu"

“…Scholars have long documented patterns of labor discrimination against people of color in the U.S. (Bertrand and Mullainathan 2004;Pager 2003;Kuppuswamy and Younkin 2020;Acquisti and Fong 2020;Chavez 2021;Broyles and Fenner 2010). These forms of discrimination have substantial negative impacts on communities of color, denying social mobility to historically marginalized groups (Bassanini and Saint-Martin 2008;Dustmann and Theodoropoulos 2010;Ghazaryan 2019).…”