DiversityInc: 7 Things NEVER to Say to Asian-American Executives

8A-2013-02-12-DiversityInc-7ThingsNotToSayDiversityInc published an articled entitled 7 Things NEVER to Say to Asian-American Executives but I feel like most of these are things that people shouldn’t say to any Asian American, regardless of whether or not they are “executives.”

The list includes one of the “most dreaded questions” (according to 8Asians) and also explains why these questions could be potentially offensive:

  1. “You must be the IT person.”
  2. “You aren’t like them” or “You don’t act very Asian.”
  3. “Asian Americans are not risk takers.”
  4. “Where are you from? No, where are you really from?” or “When are you going to go home?” or “How often do you go home?”
  5. “Oh, you speak English good!” or “Do you speak your language?”
  6. “You’re not a minority because all Asians are rich and successful.”
  7. “You’re not Asian, you’re from India.”

Maybe we should be happy that “How do you pronounce your name?” didn’t make it on the list. But then again, in many business settings, given that professionals first make contact via email/in writing, “How do you pronounce your name?” is not necessarily an impolite question, no matter what ethnicity one is.

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About jozjozjoz

jozjozjoz is a taiwanese-american gal who lives and blogs underneath the hollywood sign and who doesn’t clean her fishtank unless the fish starts to do the backstroke. she is also able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but cannot stop from bumping into door handles, cabinet doors, and anything else that protrudes or has a sharp edge. she does not run with scissors for this same reason. she can pet the fur off a dog but don’t ask her to go anywhere near a horse. or a moth. or a roach. her dealings with L.A.’s finest (aka the parking violations department) are legend, as are her giant sneezes. Other than the two too many joz’s, jozjozjoz is a perfectly normal, relatively sane individual who defies the odds, reaches for the stars, and carries moonbeams home in a jar. She’d rather be a fish… but not in her own dirty fishtank. http://www.jozjozjoz.com
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