The Bamboo Ceiling of Leadership Attainment in the United States

Asians appear disproportionately under-represented in leadership positions in the U.S., a problem called the “Bamboo Ceiling.” It remains unclear why this problem exists and whether it applies to all Asians. To investigate its mechanisms and scope, we compared the leadership attainment of the two largest Asian subgroups: East Asians (e.g., Chinese) and South Asians (e.g., Indians). Across nine studies (N=11,030) using mixed methods (archival analyses of S&P CEOs, field surveys, MBA leader elections, experiments), East Asians were less likely than South Asians and Whites to attain leadership positions, whereas South Asians outperformed Whites. To understand why the Bamboo Ceiling exists for East Asians but not South Asians, we examined three categories of mechanisms—prejudice (inter-group), motivation (intra-personal), and assertiveness (inter-personal)—while controlling for demographics (e.g., birth country, English fluency, education). Analyses revealed that East Asians faced less prejudice than South Asians, and were equally motivated by leadership roles as South Asians. However, East Asians were lower in assertiveness, which consistently mediated the leadership attainment gap. Overall, East Asians hit the Bamboo Ceiling because their low assertiveness is incongruent with American norms concerning how leaders should communicate. The Bamboo Ceiling is not an Asian issue, but an issue of cultural fit.