As a marketing professional, Eric Toda always watches the Super Bowl with a critical eye. But this year as he saw brands pledging to change after a year of protests over racial justice and political division, including in an NFL spot that many felt lost and a heavily criticized Jeep ad with Bruce Springsteen, he did not feel inspired by the messages of hope and unity.
He thought of recent reports of Asian elders in Chinatowns ranging from the Bay Area to New York City who had been violently assaulted and, in at least one case, died of their wounds, after a already hard year that experienced an increase in Asian Racism during the pandemic. Between March 19 and December 31, 2020, the national coalition Stop AAPI Hate documented 2,800 first-hand accounts of anti-Asian hatred.
The news brought Toda back to the time she was 14, when her own grandfather was beaten by a group of teenagers in a San Francisco park and had to be recovered at the hospital.
More than 20 years later, Toda, now a Facebook marketing executive, uses her position of influence to protest against ongoing anti-Asian racism, which dates back to the 1800s and grew during the pandemic.
“The model minority myth kills us right now,” Toda told CNBC Make It, referring to the stereotype that states that Asian Americans are so hardworking, silent, and financially successful as a means to erase a story. of racism towards community members. “It keeps putting us on a pedestal to be silent and be okay with being silent. It confronts us with other minority communities.”
“I realized that after having a relatively successful marketing career with a platform, I needed to use my voice in a way that was contrary to our culture, shout and raise awareness about what’s going on, and also try to make changes,” Toda explains. . “The difference now is that we are much stronger and have more ability to use our voice.”
Calling brands to support Asian communities
As a marketing executive who has also created brands on Gap, Airbnb and Snapchat, Toda says advertisers should invest more money in campaigns condemning racism targeting all marginalized groups, including Asian Americans, and improving representation of Asian Americans and the Pacific Islands. in more roles in front of and behind the camera. The goal of an advertiser, he points out, is to shape consumer perception with a few seconds of broadcast.
In recent weeks, major brands, such as Nike, ESPN and HBO, have made public statements in support of Asian American communities and against racial attacks. His messages encourage consumers to contribute to the ongoing work of groups such as Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Asian Americans for Equality, Compassion Oakland, Send Chinatown Love and Stop AAPI Hate.
It’s a good start, though Toda says she wants to see more alliance of white decision-makers in brands, within companies and among the general public to understand why issues of race and racial discrimination are so important to address.
“White colleagues will say,‘ That’s a big question. We all have jobs and now we have to take into account bias, race and nuances every day? “Toda says.” Well, yes, now you know what it’s like to live in my skin or live in the skin of a black or Latin person: we have to keep that in mind as we do our work, too. That is empathy and perspective. “
He also believes that brands can do more to get out of their multimillion-dollar coffers to contribute directly to justice organizations.
Employers need to examine anti-Asian bias at work
Toda also wants organizational leaders to use this time to examine how they perpetuate the minority myth model in the workplace. Toda has seen what some call the “bamboo roof” in place in their own professional network, in which, because of racial bias, Asian American professionals are the demographic countries least likely to be led.
Researchers say employers can do better by examining gaps in promotions for Asian American and Pacific Islander employees and providing better pathways to opportunities, such as through leadership training or mentoring programs. Recruitment managers should also be trained to recognize and actively address their own racial bias when evaluating candidates.
Toda says his employer has been “extremely supportive” in his confrontation with the issue of anti-Asian discrimination and that he is working with him to enact internal and external change; ultimately, he says his expression is a “deeply personal” goal.
For its part, Facebook provided the following statement to CNBC Make It when requested: “We stand by the Asian American community and the Pacific Islands, including our Facebook colleagues. We condemn all acts. of xenophobia, violence and intolerance, and given the rise of anti-Asian sentiment, we are alert to threats.We ban hate speech and violence against the community and our teams work to keep it off our platform “We are looking at the investments we have made to support justice in the AAPI community and we are exploring what we can do more.”
Facebook’s head of diversity, Maxine Williams, shared a post on Wednesday expressing solidarity with AAPIs and their colleagues.
Gaps in training in corporate diversity
Within organizations themselves, training in corporate diversity and anti-racism often leaves aside issues of discrimination against Asian American employees, leaving jobs poorly equipped to handle discussions about this particular moment.
“A large majority [of DEI leaders] I don’t know how to talk about issues related to Asians in America in a nuanced and complex way, “says Michelle Kim, general manager of diversity training provider Awaken. She adds that unless leaders have been active in the study of history and participation in conversations about the Asian experience in America, “most people end up focusing on race as a very black and white topic.”
Toda also sees this issue: “We continue to be considered adjacent to whites. That’s not the truth. If you want to be anti-racist, you have to include all racism against minorities.”
While Toda is pleased that the issues of anti-Asian racism are drawing attention right now, she urges companies to do more, either through their human resources functions or diversity and inclusion, to support underrepresented employees and marginalized in all spectra of identity.
“I’m very aware that in the marketing space, this will probably be the taste of social justice of the month. Next month, it could be another minority group,” he says.
“The conversation always goes back to: How are you being anti-racist and supporting your entire community and employees with education and support, so that when you move to another community in the future, are you ready?
“The reality is,” says Toda, “being anti-racist is not a 2020 thing. It’s not even a 2021. It’s a thing forever.”
Take a look at: How to support Asian American colleagues in the midst of the recent wave of anti-Asian violence
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