Week 10- Angela Moy

Angela Moy

A01

Week 10

In “The Time to Fight is Now”: When Asian American Women in Academia Go Rogue, Professor Valverde and her other co-authors go over the hidden struggles in academia for Asian American women. Topics from tenure, student activism, and the presence, or lack thereof, of Asian Americans in the university,  is highlighted through anecdotes and the unsung cases of several Asian American women. References to Star Wars is mentioned throughout the book, reiterating the struggles of these women as an ongoing battle against the "ivory tower". 

Despite being the more privileged minority, the representation of Asian American women in academia is grossly exaggerated. As stated in the "'Never Tell Me the Odds!'" chapter, Asian American women professors make up on average, only 3.55% of the faculty, and usually have a 40% chance at receiving tenure, versus a profound 92% chance of their white, male counterparts. With my  (limited) knowledge of race and politics , this 3.55% of Asian American women most likely means East Asian women, ignoring so many of the "forgotten" or "other" Asian American women. Furthermore, it is upsetting and funny to me how whites, the world's minority, have such influence and are seen as the standard in so many spaces, in academia, the workforce, and even society. POC, especially WOC are really given little chances to climb ladders and succeed in their goals. As if their own lives weren't demanding enough, the pressures of the world work against them in favor of practices stemming from centuries of white imperialism. Cries about gender equality can be made, but who do those practices really benefit? Despite the "progressions" of feminism in our world, when will that narrative extend to WOC?

Question: The numbers are clear that the Asian American population on campuses, particularly the UC campuses are growing, but we still are being misrepresented, be it SEA/South Asians, or a presence in the university, when and how can that change be made?

References:

Valverde, C., & Dariotis, W. (2017). "The Time to Fight is Now": When Asian American Women in Academia Go Rogue. Retrieved June 4, 2017.

[Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2017, from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYZtFE3wWEdinh0zZR4zb5rHsbalOqOGYIv-_q1feImKmQO7IUi7PdSqzblwgqOXGJZdmira4C7l2eSfL7el1CFXMdvydki8DvkrBq9fzMUfBcIwe6U2QxqiTHPwO93NbdvtdQSsPiTh5/s1600/%EC%A0%9C%EB%AA%A9+%EC%97%86%EC%9D%8C.png