1
00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:09,750
Have you heard of
the term Fasian?

2
00:00:09,750 --> 00:00:13,210
It's short for fake Asian.

3
00:00:13,940 --> 00:00:16,080
I'm not sure if
it's something that

4
00:00:16,080 --> 00:00:17,430
my friends and I came up with,

5
00:00:17,430 --> 00:00:19,155
but that's basically what I am.

6
00:00:19,155 --> 00:00:23,355
A Fasian. My name
is Hayley Yeates.

7
00:00:23,355 --> 00:00:27,105
I was born in South Korea and
adopted at five months old.

8
00:00:27,105 --> 00:00:30,630
I've grown up here and lived
in Sydney my whole life.

9
00:00:30,630 --> 00:00:32,855
My parents and my
extended family

10
00:00:32,855 --> 00:00:34,640
are all white Australians.

11
00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:39,150
For me, I've only ever identified
as a proud Australian.

12
00:00:39,820 --> 00:00:42,640
I don't feel like I'm different.

13
00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:44,870
I don't wake up in the
morning and consider

14
00:00:44,870 --> 00:00:47,840
how I can leave my
best minority life.

15
00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:51,725
I've gotten used to
the double-take.

16
00:00:51,725 --> 00:00:54,140
When someone meets me
for the first time and

17
00:00:54,140 --> 00:00:55,580
my face and my accent

18
00:00:55,580 --> 00:00:58,070
doesn't quite match the
picture in their head.

19
00:00:58,070 --> 00:01:00,830
I laugh about it
when people say,

20
00:01:00,830 --> 00:01:03,215
but where are you really from?

21
00:01:03,215 --> 00:01:06,665
I might be a spy with
a secret identity.

22
00:01:06,665 --> 00:01:08,660
Most of the time, it's easy

23
00:01:08,660 --> 00:01:09,920
to forget that people can make

24
00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:13,680
assumptions about me just
based on how I look.

25
00:01:14,090 --> 00:01:17,135
Not long ago when I
was at university,

26
00:01:17,135 --> 00:01:20,630
group assignments, met up a
large portion of your marks.

27
00:01:20,630 --> 00:01:23,555
Groups were often formed
in the first few weeks,

28
00:01:23,555 --> 00:01:25,990
usually based on
who you sit with.

29
00:01:25,990 --> 00:01:27,860
In that time, I noticed

30
00:01:27,860 --> 00:01:30,305
people scanning the
room as they walked in.

31
00:01:30,305 --> 00:01:32,225
Evaluating their options.

32
00:01:32,225 --> 00:01:34,325
They look in my direction,

33
00:01:34,325 --> 00:01:38,500
think it over, and then
they sit at another table.

34
00:01:38,500 --> 00:01:41,030
For a while, I just assumed it's

35
00:01:41,030 --> 00:01:43,475
probably because I'm
just not that smiley.

36
00:01:43,475 --> 00:01:45,770
But several subjects passed,

37
00:01:45,770 --> 00:01:48,110
it was still bothering me
until one of my friends said,

38
00:01:48,110 --> 00:01:51,900
Hayley, It's probably because
they think you're Asian.

39
00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:56,959
I decided each time I
studied a new subject,

40
00:01:56,959 --> 00:02:00,380
I would be that person that
had done all of the readings.

41
00:02:00,380 --> 00:02:02,180
I'd put up my hand and I would

42
00:02:02,180 --> 00:02:04,180
answer all of the questions.

43
00:02:04,180 --> 00:02:07,475
I felt like if I put in the
extra effort and I spoke up,

44
00:02:07,475 --> 00:02:08,870
my classmates would think I was

45
00:02:08,870 --> 00:02:11,005
somebody worth working with.

46
00:02:11,005 --> 00:02:15,709
After going above and beyond
in too many subjects,

47
00:02:15,709 --> 00:02:18,050
I realized I was making myself

48
00:02:18,050 --> 00:02:21,240
work harder than everybody
else, just to be saying.

49
00:02:21,410 --> 00:02:25,025
I found myself consciously
and subconsciously

50
00:02:25,025 --> 00:02:27,920
modifying my behavior to
manage these assumptions.

51
00:02:27,920 --> 00:02:30,800
I found myself not wanting
to buy certain items of

52
00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:32,600
clothing or wear my glasses to

53
00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,360
work in case I looked too Asian.

54
00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:38,000
For years, I didn't
have a picture on

55
00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,460
my LinkedIn profile
because I didn't want

56
00:02:40,460 --> 00:02:41,780
anyone to think that
I wouldn't make

57
00:02:41,780 --> 00:02:43,130
a good communications manager

58
00:02:43,130 --> 00:02:46,740
because English look like it
might be my second language.

59
00:02:46,740 --> 00:02:50,825
I was secretly grateful to
have a westernized name.

60
00:02:50,825 --> 00:02:54,605
One day I realized if this
is what it's like for me,

61
00:02:54,605 --> 00:02:57,080
a fake Asian, what's it like

62
00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:00,420
for someone who's genuinely
from another culture?

63
00:03:01,390 --> 00:03:03,950
It stands to reason
if you were raised in

64
00:03:03,950 --> 00:03:05,210
a culture different to

65
00:03:05,210 --> 00:03:06,605
the one that you
end up working in,

66
00:03:06,605 --> 00:03:09,370
you're probably going to
feel some pressure to adapt.

67
00:03:09,370 --> 00:03:12,410
An Australian study of people
with Asian backgrounds,

68
00:03:12,410 --> 00:03:14,720
including India,
Pakistan, and Sri Lanka,

69
00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:16,340
found that two-thirds of people

70
00:03:16,340 --> 00:03:18,230
surveyed felt that
they needed to

71
00:03:18,230 --> 00:03:20,630
conform to angler size ideas

72
00:03:20,630 --> 00:03:24,430
of teamwork and leadership
to be successful.

73
00:03:24,430 --> 00:03:28,115
The irony of this is
that cultural diversity,

74
00:03:28,115 --> 00:03:30,505
it's actually great
for business.

75
00:03:30,505 --> 00:03:34,355
McKinsey's study of over
300 multinational companies

76
00:03:34,355 --> 00:03:35,810
found that companies
which were in

77
00:03:35,810 --> 00:03:38,315
the top quartile for
ethnic diversity,

78
00:03:38,315 --> 00:03:40,850
they were 35 percent
more likely to

79
00:03:40,850 --> 00:03:44,050
have financial returns
above their competitors.

80
00:03:44,050 --> 00:03:46,265
When you start to look at it,

81
00:03:46,265 --> 00:03:47,660
there's extensive research that

82
00:03:47,660 --> 00:03:49,925
suggests just why this
might be the case.

83
00:03:49,925 --> 00:03:52,535
Culturally diverse
teams can produce

84
00:03:52,535 --> 00:03:54,620
more accurate work by

85
00:03:54,620 --> 00:03:57,485
tapping into a wider variety
of skills and experience.

86
00:03:57,485 --> 00:04:01,690
They're able to focus more
effects and remain objective.

87
00:04:01,690 --> 00:04:05,355
There are also more innovative.

88
00:04:05,355 --> 00:04:08,450
Studies have shown
culturally diverse teams

89
00:04:08,450 --> 00:04:11,555
are more likely to
develop new products.

90
00:04:11,555 --> 00:04:13,640
They're also better
able to solve

91
00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:15,490
problems and make decisions.

92
00:04:15,490 --> 00:04:17,660
I don't mean the decisions like,

93
00:04:17,660 --> 00:04:20,030
what are we going to
order at Yum Cha?

94
00:04:20,030 --> 00:04:23,400
I still get asked
this quite a lot.

95
00:04:23,590 --> 00:04:26,900
The decisions which
reflect the diversity of

96
00:04:26,900 --> 00:04:31,470
an organization's staff
and their customers.

97
00:04:31,940 --> 00:04:35,360
If it's beneficial for
businesses to help people

98
00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:38,665
feel that they can bring
their whole selves to work,

99
00:04:38,665 --> 00:04:41,470
are we making it easy for them?

100
00:04:41,810 --> 00:04:44,660
When the topic of
diversity comes up,

101
00:04:44,660 --> 00:04:47,905
it's often in relation
to gender diversity.

102
00:04:47,905 --> 00:04:49,880
We've looked deep
into the barriers

103
00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:51,830
to gender equality at work,

104
00:04:51,830 --> 00:04:53,480
the gender pay gap,

105
00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:55,670
female representation
in senior management

106
00:04:55,670 --> 00:04:58,250
and on boards, the
glass ceiling.

107
00:04:58,250 --> 00:05:00,365
We've become more
and more educated

108
00:05:00,365 --> 00:05:01,910
on how to tackle the problem.

109
00:05:01,910 --> 00:05:05,345
Support groups, quarters
versus targets.

110
00:05:05,345 --> 00:05:08,690
As women, we've been
told to get mentored,

111
00:05:08,690 --> 00:05:11,935
reach higher, lean
in, and speak up.

112
00:05:11,935 --> 00:05:14,760
But what about
cultural minorities?

113
00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:18,570
What if you're Asian and female?

114
00:05:18,570 --> 00:05:22,720
Do I need to lean
in twice as hard?

115
00:05:24,010 --> 00:05:26,960
Asian American leadership,
author Jane Hyun

116
00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:29,420
coined the term the
Bamboo Ceiling.

117
00:05:29,420 --> 00:05:31,895
Similar to what the glass
ceiling is for women,

118
00:05:31,895 --> 00:05:34,520
the Bamboo Ceiling refers to
barriers that people with

119
00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:36,200
Asian backgrounds face in

120
00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:38,975
workplaces with
Western cultures.

121
00:05:38,975 --> 00:05:41,900
When I first read about
the Bamboo Ceiling,

122
00:05:41,900 --> 00:05:43,865
I felt a bit guilty.

123
00:05:43,865 --> 00:05:46,010
Guilty how I had
handled myself in

124
00:05:46,010 --> 00:05:48,060
those university
classes and take

125
00:05:48,060 --> 00:05:51,770
it upon myself to manage
other people's expectations.

126
00:05:51,770 --> 00:05:56,070
I was somehow reinforcing
these multiple ceilings.

127
00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:07,085
Go to company numbers
on hiring, retention,

128
00:06:07,085 --> 00:06:09,470
promotion of tech companies in

129
00:06:09,470 --> 00:06:12,870
Silicon Valley over a
period of nine years.

130
00:06:13,150 --> 00:06:17,150
While Asians were the largest
minority in the industry,

131
00:06:17,150 --> 00:06:20,389
even outnumbering what
people at an entry-level,

132
00:06:20,389 --> 00:06:22,280
they were the least likely to

133
00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:24,530
be promoted into management.

134
00:06:24,530 --> 00:06:28,820
Black and Latino representation
had actually declined,

135
00:06:28,820 --> 00:06:30,350
and while white women

136
00:06:30,350 --> 00:06:32,240
seem to be climbing
the corporate ladder,

137
00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:35,440
minority women would just not.

138
00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:39,415
In fact, race had over
three-and-a-half times

139
00:06:39,415 --> 00:06:40,910
the negative impact on

140
00:06:40,910 --> 00:06:44,100
career progression
than gender did.

141
00:06:45,370 --> 00:06:48,290
Probably the most
upsetting conclusion in

142
00:06:48,290 --> 00:06:51,260
a sense report was that
the millennial generation,

143
00:06:51,260 --> 00:06:56,195
my generation is unlikely to
crack the cultural ceiling.

144
00:06:56,195 --> 00:06:58,880
Are we seriously looking at

145
00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:01,220
another decade of
people thinking twice

146
00:07:01,220 --> 00:07:03,140
about using a profile picture

147
00:07:03,140 --> 00:07:06,750
or their given names
on a job application.

148
00:07:07,730 --> 00:07:10,860
When I think about legacy,

149
00:07:10,860 --> 00:07:15,145
it's not just something to
be posthumously preserved.

150
00:07:15,145 --> 00:07:17,060
It's something that
should drive us

151
00:07:17,060 --> 00:07:18,995
forward into the future

152
00:07:18,995 --> 00:07:20,630
and make us want to work towards

153
00:07:20,630 --> 00:07:23,725
something better than
what we have now.

154
00:07:23,725 --> 00:07:26,640
Diversity and inclusion,

155
00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:28,940
there's much more
than a couple of

156
00:07:28,940 --> 00:07:31,040
mentions in an annual report

157
00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,280
or even workshops
on implicit bias.

158
00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:38,630
It's about shifting to a
more globalized mindset and

159
00:07:38,630 --> 00:07:40,400
expanding our definitions of

160
00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:43,830
what teamwork and
leadership can look like.

161
00:07:44,570 --> 00:07:48,215
It's time to go beyond the
demographics of this issue.

162
00:07:48,215 --> 00:07:50,780
The who and the what. We need to

163
00:07:50,780 --> 00:07:54,010
be looking at the
how and the why.

164
00:07:54,010 --> 00:07:58,270
Authentic, unrestrained
conversations to look deep

165
00:07:58,270 --> 00:08:00,490
into the barriers the
cultural minorities

166
00:08:00,490 --> 00:08:02,495
and their employers face.

167
00:08:02,495 --> 00:08:04,690
Because as far as I know,

168
00:08:04,690 --> 00:08:06,850
there isn't going to be a
data point that's going

169
00:08:06,850 --> 00:08:08,800
to tell you how
it feels to think

170
00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:10,765
your peers might be
avoiding working with you

171
00:08:10,765 --> 00:08:13,715
just based on how you look.

172
00:08:13,715 --> 00:08:17,230
Or how good it can
feel to look at

173
00:08:17,230 --> 00:08:19,570
your organization
and see diversity

174
00:08:19,570 --> 00:08:22,895
truly represented
at every level.

175
00:08:22,895 --> 00:08:25,745
To break the glass, Bamboo,

176
00:08:25,745 --> 00:08:28,510
and whatever other
ceilings there may be,

177
00:08:28,510 --> 00:08:30,610
let's create
environments where we

178
00:08:30,610 --> 00:08:33,200
can bring our whole
selves to work.

179
00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:36,120
Because the next generation

180
00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:37,460
deserves to feel
like they are in

181
00:08:37,460 --> 00:08:39,590
off and because there's

182
00:08:39,590 --> 00:08:43,510
real strength in our
differences. Thank you.