Spotlight: Jane Hyun

This week we are going to be spotlighting the individual who coined the term ‘Bamboo Ceiling’, Jane Hyun.

There beauty of this modern society is the diverse range of cultures and values. Globalisation and further growth of transnational relationships has seen more mobility of talent.

Hyun & Associates is an organisation that focuses on “developing culturally fluent leaders” as per their motto. Like Dai Le, she really believes in promoting diversity in leadership with a particular focus on getting Asian talent in leadership roles. The company does this through programs and advisory. They provide many services to develop skills to empower the Asian community into moving up on the corporate ladder.

Jane Hyun has also written a book “Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Career Strategies for Asians“. This book sheds light into how Asian students achieve many academic success but fail to convert it into higher-level managerial roles within the workplace. They represent a minority that stagnate in progression due to differing cultural values and the translation in approach to leadership.

Hyun instigated an exploration into improving the statistics in favour of Asian individuals. Addressing the issue needs to be multi-tiered, where it is tackled individually via means of self-awareness but also organisationally, where companies implement programs and structures that support their advancement in the workplace.

 

Contrasting cultural values have often hindered the progress of Asians in the workplace and Hyun has brought to the forefront the issue and how we need to break this bamboo ceiling.

Jane Hyun is fundamental to this movement.