As Biden administration officials celebrate May’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Amb. Katherine Tai, the first woman of color to serve as U.S. trade representative, reflected on the struggles she’s encountered as an Asian American woman in leadership.
Tai, who spoke to NBC News exclusively after delivering remarks at the White House Forum on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) on Wednesday, brought up some interactions in her career, illustrating some of the seemingly impossible expectations people have of Asian women.
“Recently, I had an interesting exchange with a congressman during one of my hearings and he said, ‘I think you might be too nice,’” Tai recalled, referencing comments from Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., during a House Ways and Means Committee in March. “Many years ago, there was some article saying that I was really not nice.”
Tai, who’s also the co-chair of The White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, said that when it comes to others’ perceptions of Asian Americans, “It can be very complicated, it can be very double edged, but I guess my way of coping is just to ground myself and say, ‘I can’t be anyone but myself.’”
Tai, who was among the many prominent Asian Americans to speak at the forum, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said she’s no stranger to the perception of Asian women being compliant workers, rather than leaders.
“Lots of times I will land in a foreign airport, and when I’m on government business, I have the benefit of being expedited through security,” Tai said. “And oftentimes the security team will come and they’ll know that one of us gets to be expedited, but they’ll look at the group and they won’t immediately guess that I’m the one who is the trade minister.”
The ambassador said, however, that the women and trailblazers from marginalized who have ascended to leadership…
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