The Experiences Anti-Asian/Chinese Racism in the Workplace: An Intersectional Analysis

• In Event: Asia and Asian American Section Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 12: Asia and Asian America Section Roundtable - Work and Labor

Abstract

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in Anti-Chinese/Asian racism in Canada that has harmed the health and well-being of Asian Canadians. Driven by stigma, misinformation, and geopolitical narratives, its prevalence and intensity has captured the attention of mainstream and social media.

This paper adopts an intersectional framework to examine the experience of racism of Chinese individuals in their workplace within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Drawing on data analysis from a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada funded research project , and focusing the analysis of the experience of anti-Chinese racism before and during COVID on such topics that include microaggression, stereotyping, verbal acts of abuse, etc., the paper demonstrates that the pandemic has exacerbated anti-Chinese racism, especially in the workplace, leading to work environments that are exclusionary and isolating. In particular, the paper elucidates how racialized individuals’ experiences of racism intersect in complex ways with their positionalities (i.e., race, class, gender, age, ability, English/French fluency, immigration/citizenship status etc.) to further complicate how individuals are differentially targeted and how they experience racism differently. Furthermore, the paper highlights how interviewees utilize their agency to combat anti-Asian racism.

Author

• Guida C. Man, york university