Hanling Zhu ASA2 A02 Week4

Hanling Zhu

ASA2 A02

Week4

For the readings this week, I read the poem “Who Killed Soek-Fang Sim” written by Wang Ping. I can really get the emotion in the poem by reading it several times. In the poem, the author talked about his experience in college. There is a woman whose name is Sim, and she is an excellent teacher. However, they are not respected by others and they get low salaries. Not only that, but they also have to bear the rumors which cause emotional stress. They were also laughed at because of their accent. I think it is common for people who use the second language to have an accent, and I did not experience this kind of discrimination since I study abroad. However, at that time, they must need to put up with so much pressure.  Under such pressure, Sim passed away because of breast cancer.

I was so sad after I read this poem. It is really common all of the world that females get less salary than men. Until today, there are still a lot of women fight for their rights to be paid equally. As an international student from China, I think I may also have a similar experience. But I think when I face this, I will speak for my unequal treatment. If nobody speaks up, then everyone will think this situation is common and keep discriminate against female Asian Americans. We need to stand up and work together to protect our rights.

Question:

What can I do to protect myself if I experienced discrimination in academia?

Reference:
Valverde, K.-L. C., & Dariotis, W. M. (2020). Fight the tower: Asian American women scholars resistance and renewal in the academy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Photo retrieved from: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/the-1968-ford-sewing-machinists-strike-and-the-history-for-equal-pay-for-women/