Resources

What are the causes of the absence of API designers among professional leadership? How can we overcome the issues that API designers face? Below, we are collecting resources, including articles, research, exhibitions, and design projects to guide our mission.

  • The Leadership Representation Ceiling for Asian Americans

    This piece from Bloomberg documents how misconceptions and biases about Asian Americans, as well as cultural differences, are fueling a leadership perception gap.

  • Asian Americans Least Likely Group to Be Promoted

    This article from Harvard Business Review describes how Asian American professionals are the least likely group to be promoted from individual contributor roles into management — less likely than any other race.

  • Speaking into Being: Beyond Asian Silence

    Amidst a wave of anti-Asian violence, this student exhibit from the Yale School of Architecture curated design work to contribute toward a collective memory of Asian and Asian-American stories.

  • LEAP Asian American Leadership Report

    In this report, LEAP (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics) presents research findings on the strategies of API leaders who have advanced through challenging pathways into leadership.

  • Rediscovering API Architects and Designers

    The Society of Architectural Historians, tapped by Cooper Hewitt, is undertaking a project to accelerate the collection of the work of Asian architects in the US. This roundtable discussion is the first initiative in this project.

  • Yale Visibility Project

    The Yale Visibility Project is a student initiative that shares quantitative data and collected narratives to examine the dynamics of race, ethnicity, and gender within the School of Architecture.

  • AAPI Data Analysis

    AAPI Data is a publisher of demographic data and policy research on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Visit for information on key issues facing the API community in the U.S.

  • Woman approaching 3 barriers

    Stereotypes about creativity can hold East Asians back from leadership roles

    This article from MIT Sloan School of Management highlights a study by associate professor Jackson Lu that shows implicit biases against East Asians, particularly in regard to their creativity.

  • Ascend Global Leaders Group Photo

    Ascend Global Leaders

    Ascend is the largest global network advancing Pan-Asian professionals in the workplace. They offer career lifecycle and cross-industry networking and mentorship opportunities, development and leadership programs.