General Notes - Hide/Delete This Slide Prior to Presenting

Anti-Racism Caucus - Mostly Discussion based session

1.5 Hrs Long - Using APAMSA Branded Templates

Topic: Affirmative Action & Model Minority Myth

1. Introduction
2. [Erin] Brief on Bamboo Ceiling as base
3. Background Info
1. Affirmative Action / Model Minority
4. Mini Case 1 & 2
• 1 for Affirmative Action
• 1 for Model Minority
5. Discussion Questions for each
• Affirmative Action
• Model Minority

00:00 - 00:10: Getting Settled

00:10 - 00:20: Introductions, APAMSA Advocacy - Brief on Bamboo Ceiling

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35 min:

00:20 - 00:25: Background + Case 1: Model Minority�00:30 - 00:45: Discussion 1

00:45 - 00:55: Group Thoughts

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35 min:

00:60 - 01:05: Background + Case 2: Affirmative Action

01:05 - 01:20: Discussion 2

01:20 - 01:30: Group Thoughts

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Anti-Racism Caucus 2024

Affirmative Action and the Model Minority Myth

Introductions

• Briefly introduce yourselves to your group

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• Name, School, Areas of Interest within Medicine, and your interests in advocacy!

APAMSA Advocacy Branch

As the Advocacy Branch of the only national organization representing Asian Pacific American medical students, we seek to amplify the voices of minority communities.

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• Some projects from this year: Advocacy Initiative Grant, Advocacy Toolkit, APAMSA x Vot-ER internship, Roe v. Wade Panel, many Rapid Response Statements, Annual Resolutions Cycle, and more!

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• 2023-2024 Members
• Advocacy VP - Annie Yao
• Health Policy Director - Sarah Kim
• Medical Education Director - John P. Lee
• Rapid Response Director - Eric Kim
• Director of Organized Medicine - Zheng Hong Tan
• Committee Members - Megan Jiao, Erin Kim, Lauren Kang, Anthony Nguyen, Austin Yang

Learning Objectives

• Promote healthy, productive, and respectful discussion on timely AANHPI advocacy issues
• Understand what the Model Minority Myth is, and why it is a myth
• Identify ways in which the Model Minority Myth is harmful
• Recognize why the problem of the bamboo ceiling remains invisible
• Describe the history and original purpose behind Affirmative Action
• Realize the consequences of banning Affirmative action

Part I: Model Minority Myth

And the Bamboo Ceiling

What is the Model Minority Myth?

• Model Minority myth (MMM): the myth that Asian Americans are the “model minority” in the United States due to stereotypes such as…
• Being shy, polite, and law-abiding
• Being successful – holding higher degrees, earning larger incomes
• Being a studious and hardworking
• Asian American parents are seen as tiger moms and nerdy dads who hold jobs in positions like engineering (yet, are not in leadership positions)

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The Model Minority Myth is false:

• It ignores diversity and experiences of AANHPI subgroups
• For every $1 an average white man makes in the U.S…¹
• An Asian Indian woman makes $1.21
• A Taiwanese woman makes $1.61
• A Samoan woman makes $0.62
• A Burmese woman makes $0.50
• There are wide disparities in income-level and education within the Asian American community

1. https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/what-is-the-model-minority-myth

Key Disparities In Income And Education

Among Asian American Groups²

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https://www.npr.org/2021/05/25/999874296/6-charts-that-dismantle-the-trope-of-asian-americans-as-a-model-minority

Ways the Model Minority Myth Hurts AANHPI

• Erases differences among individuals
• “All Asian American students must be be studious and high achieving” → Sets higher expectations and pressures for AANHPI students
• Positions Asian Americans as beneficiaries of the “American Dream” without the context of historic/modern day anti-Asian racism
• Erases Asian American experiences such as Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Japanese internment in the 1940s, Racism against AANHPI during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Stereotypes limit AANHPI achievement – i.e. Bamboo Ceiling

https://www.npr.org/2021/05/25/999874296/6-charts-that-dismantle-the-trope-of-asian-americans-as-a-model-minority

>> The “Bamboo Ceiling”

• First coined by Jane Hyun in her 2005 book Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Career Strategies for Asians

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• The Bamboo Ceiling refers to the barriers that keep qualified AANHPIs from attaining leadership positions in the United States

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• Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI)-identifying individuals appear disproportionately underrepresented in leadership roles across different industries, and medicine is not an exception

Bamboo Ceiling in Medical Education

• AANHPI-identifying individuals made up 6.2% of the U.S. population per the 2020 census, and as of 2019, AANHPI-identifying individuals made up 17.2% of the physician workforce

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• At present, individuals identifying as AANHPI constitute approximately 20% of all medical students, a representation that persists through residency and into full-time faculty roles at medical schools. However, this level of representation declines when considering the number of AANHPI individuals who advance to positions of full professors or department chairs

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AAMC Report from 2023:

“Underrepresented in Medicine (“URiM”) includes all deans who are not White only and/or Asian only, including deans with “other” race/ethnicity and including deans with multiple races/ethnicities where at least one race/ethnicity is not White or Asian (e.g., a dean who is Black and White is considered URiM);

“Non-URiM” includes all deans who are White only, Asian only, or White and Asian only.”

In reality, between 1997 and 2008, there was not a single Asian American dean.

AAMC Report

The Model Minority Myth can contribute to the Bamboo Ceiling

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• The stereotype of Asian Americans as hardworking and successful can lead to expectations that they should excel in professional environments. However, this stereotype can also be used to justify overlooking Asian Americans for leadership positions or assuming they do not need assistance in career advancement
• The model minority myth can perpetuate the bamboo ceiling by masking the challenges Asian Americans face in the workplace and minimizing the need for initiatives to address diversity and inclusion.
• Finally, the Bamboo Ceiling does not affect all groups under the AANHPI umbrella equally (DATA DISAGGREGATION)

Case: Model Minority Myth in Medicine

• Lumping all Asian Americans into one category ignores health disparities apparent within the AANHPI community

• Large minority groups in the U.S. have benefitted from health surveys, but NHPI groups are often lumped into the category of “Asian American,” which can be harmful

1. Asian-born women in the United States suffer death rates from breast cancer up to four times as high as U.S.-born Asian American women
2. Asian American adults are 50% less likely to die from heart disease than white Americans, but NHPI Americans are 40% more likely to be diagnosed with heart disease compared to white Americans

https://blog.petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2021/06/28/the-model-minority-myth-puts-asian-americans-health-at-risk/

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/915030

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Breakout Group Discussion Questions:

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How has the Model Minority Myth influenced your experiences? Have you had an experience where you stood up against stereotypes held against your racial identity?

How does the Model Minority Myth contribute to the Bamboo Ceiling?

How can individuals and communities work to dismantle the Model Minority Myth?

Part II: Affirmative Action

A Brief History of Affirmative Action

Executive Order 10925: (March 6th, 1961, Pres. John F. Kennedy):

• Provision that government contractors "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin."

Executive Order 11246: (September 24th, 1965, Amended 1967. Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson):

• No employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin by those organizations receiving federal contracts and subcontracts.

History of Executive Order 11246. (n.d.). DOL. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ofccp/about/executive-order-11246-history

Supreme Court Landmark Case:�Regents of the University of California v. Bakke�438 U.S. 265 (1978)

UC Davis Medical School - Founded in 1968 with all-white inaugural class.

• Faculty concerned, school began special admissions program for disadvantaged students to “compensate victims of unjust societal discrimination.”
• 16/100 seats were to be filled by candidates recommended by special committee.

Decision:

• Upheld affirmative action - allowing race to be one of several factors in college admission policies.
• However, specific racial quotas (i.e. 16/100 seats set aside for minority students) were not permissive.

Regents of Univ. of Cal. v. Bakke, 438 U. S. 265 (1978)

https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep438/usrep438265/usrep438265.pdf

Supreme Court Landmark Case:�Grutter v Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003)

• University of Michigan Law school denied admission to Grutter, who then filed suit alleging discrimination on basis of race in violation with 14th Amendment.
• University argued for compelling state interest to ensure “critical mass of” and to provide adequate opportunities to students from minority groups.�
• Decision:
• U.S. Constitution “does not prohibit the [University of Michigan] law school’s tailored use of race in admissions decisions.”
• Processes that favor underrepresented minority groups do not violate the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause so long as it takes into account other factors evaluated on individual basis for every applicant.

Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003). (n.d.). Justia Law. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/539/306/

Supreme Court Landmark Case:�Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard�600 U.S. 181, Oct. 11, 2022 - June 29th, 2023

6-2 decision: Overruled prior decisions in 1978 and 2003. Reversal of 45 years of legal precedent.

• Race-based affirmative action in college admissions violates Equal Protection Clause of 14th Amendment.
• Hence, public colleges and universities may no longer use affirmative action in college admissions.
• Note: This does not apply to U.S. military academies due to absence of such institutions in preceding cases.

Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U. S. (2023)

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/600us1r53_4g15.pdf

Discussion Questions:

1. What may some of the consequences of banning affirmative action be at the individual, institutional, and population level?�
2. What can interested parties (college and medical schools, community leaders, etc) do to create and ensure opportunities for students of color/individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds?�
3. After students are admitted, how can schools work to create and continue fostering diverse and equitable campuses?

Thank You!

• Attendees!
• Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV
• APAMSA National Conference organizers
• APAMSA Advocacy Branch and committee members
• Special s/o to Anthony Nguyen, Erin Kim, Sarah Kim for their work on this presentation

Welcome to APAMSA National Conference 2024!

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See you all tomorrow!

References

Bureau UC. 20.6 Million People in the U.S. Identify as Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Census.gov. Published May 25, 2022. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/05/aanhpi-population-diverse-geographically-dispersed.html#:~:text=20.6%20Million%20People%20in%20the

1.U.S. Medical School Deans by Dean Type and Race/Ethnicity (URiM vs. non-URiM). AAMC. Accessed February 18, 2024. https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/faculty-institutions/data/us-medical-school-deans-trends-type-and-race-ethnicity

Choi AMK, Rustgi AK. Diversity in Leadership at Academic Medical Centers: Addressing Underrepresentation Among Asian American Faculty. JAMA. 2021;326(7):605–606. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.12028

Odei BC, Jagsi R, Diaz DA, et al. Evaluation of Equitable Racial and Ethnic Representation Among Departmental Chairs in Academic Medicine, 1980-2019. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(5):e2110726. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.10726

Asian American doctors, overrepresented in medicine, are largely left out of leadership. STAT. https://www.statnews.com/2023/07/26/asian-american-doctors-medicine-leadership/. Published July 26, 2023.

History of Executive Order 11246. (n.d.). DOL. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ofccp/about/executive-order-11246-history

Regents of Univ. of Cal. v. Bakke, 438 U. S. 265 (1978) https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep438/usrep438265/usrep438265.pdf

Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003). (n.d.). Justia Law. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/539/306/

Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U. S. (2023) https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/600us1r53_4g15.pdf