The Pay Gap That Too Few People Are Talking About

April 8 was Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Equal Pay Day in the U.S. AANHPI women working full-time earn 83 cents for every dollar white men earn—and when you include all workers, that drops to around 70 cents.

But that’s not the full story. As Sue Ann Hong-Whitaker, leader of the Center for Asian Pacific American Women, puts it, “Some of us earn high salaries—and so the average looks OK. But that’s absolutely a false positive.”

• The average erases who’s hurting most. In the U.S., Burmese women earn just 52 cents on the dollar compared to white men. Nepalese women, 62 cents. Bhutanese women, 49 cents.
• AANHPI women hit a ceiling that no one’s talking about. Asian American women have the lowest promotion rates of any group of women from the director level to VP, our Women in the Workplace research shows.
• Globally, the pattern is similar. AANHPI women living and working in Europe, Canada, Australia, and beyond often encounter comparable barriers.

So what can you do?

If you’re an employee at any level:

• Share this data with the most senior person you know. Decades of organizational change research show that problems only get solved when leaders see the data and understand the cost of not solving it.
• The numbers are clear. Companies with more women and people of color in senior leadership significantly outperform their peers in revenue and innovation. Every skilled AANHPI woman stuck below the VP level is talent and revenue left on the table.

If you’re an AANHPI woman:

• Make your contributions visible to your manager and beyond. Share your wins and make sure the right people know that you’re delivering on metrics and company values.
• Invest in your brand and your voice—with people you trust. Work with friends in your industry, your Lean In Circle, or a coach to get honest feedback and practice advocating for yourself. In most workplace cultures today, visibility and self-advocacy are a shortcut to leadership.