The existence of Bamboo Glass Ceilings

I’m currently writing a paper on the very subject of the ‘bamboo glass’ ceiling at the moment, so you’ll have to indulge me.

Discourse on the glass ceiling – the metaphor of an invisible barrier looming above women in the workforce – largely focuses on white women. The discourse on how the glass ceiling intersects with ethnicity, sexuality, disability or socioeconomic status are often overlooked. Particular to this discussion is the absence of how the bamboo ceiling - the interplay of cultural factors impeding the rise of Asians to positions of leadership - intersects with the glass ceiling. Asian Australian women consequently bear the brunt.

The recent decision by NSW Labor to impose a white woman candidate at the expense of an Asian Australian woman - a local from that very seat - is a sobering example of the reality of equity and its progress in Australia. I do not doubt the competencies of this candidate nor their impacts towards gender equality in Australian politics. But when you watch an extraordinary young Asian Australian women who wanted to represent her seat be sidelined for a white woman, what does that say about our value for Asian women? I do not want to discount the very valid experiences of the glass ceiling and its impact on women, but when the conversation is largely focused on white women, can we really call this progress?

As Charishma Kaliyanda aptly writes in her Opinion piece, “Having three women vying within the Labor Party for two positions – one for the Senate, the other for Fowler – might seem a triumph for gender equity. But when the loser is the only woman of colour, does equity end with white women?”

- Isabella