Who is the Boss? A Comparative Study of Occupational Attainment of Chinese and Indian Americans

• In Event: 4367 - Section on Asia and Asian America Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: 9. Occupation and Work

Abstract

Chinese and Indian Americans share many similarties in socioeconomic status as measured by education, occupation, and neighborhood attainment. However, Indian Americans are more likely to be in prominent CEO positions than Chinese Americans. In this paper, we compare Indian Americans with Chinese Americans from the perspectives of human capital, social capital, culture and discrimination using 2012 to 2016 American Community Survey data. We find that Indian immigrants experienced higher degree of migrant selectivity and they inherited Indian culture that values personal success and individualism. Indian Americans have more human capital and stronger professional networks than Chinese Americans. Moreover, Indian Americans also gained higher returns from business and administration training and benefited more from industrial and geographical concentration.
Keywords: Glass ceiling, Manageniral positions, Chinese and Indian Americans

Authors

• Bo Zhou, Sun Yat-sen University

• Zai Liang, State University of New York-Albany