I took a trip to Shenzhen for work last week -- it was the prototypical situation where we had a potential client and the firm pulled out all the stops to arrange a meeting/pitch. I was asked at the last minute to join. While the fact went mostly unspoken (though one of the partners did acknowledge it somewhat sheepishly), I brought to the table a triple dose of much-needed diversity, by being a woman, Asian, and a Mandarin speaker to boot. Put another way, I was a nice token to trot out so that we appeared relatable to the potential client (so that was a lovely way for me to kick off the process, feeling like I was so valuable for my intellect and expertise as opposed to my appearance).
When we showed up at the meeting, four Chinese women from the company, all heads of their respective legal departments, sat opposite our team, which consisted of four white men (all partners) and two Chinese women (including me). The contrast of the participants at this meeting was, needless to say, very stark.
One of the members of my team commented on it after the meeting: "Is gender equality less of an issue in China?" he mused. "It seems there are a lot of women in very high positions here."
One of the members of my team commented on it after the meeting: "Is gender equality less of an issue in China?" he mused. "It seems there are a lot of women in very high positions here."
With that as the backdrop of the entire day's affairs, we were approaching the border crossing from Shenzhen back into Hong Kong in a hired van, when the incident occurred. I was sitting in the very back of the vehicle.
At Shenzhen, the border crossing consists of opening the car doors and the trunk, and passing over everyone's passports and, if you have them, your Hong Kong ID. The Shenzhen immigration official tries to match up each person with their purported picture, and when the documents are done and stamped, he passes everyone's documents back to the booth behind him, in which sits the Hong Kong immigration official. Another Hong Kong border crossing official comes out to the car with a temperature scanner, and rings everyone up by pointing the scanner gun at each person's forehead. After scanning my forehead, the woman asked me to step out of the car. I thought she just couldn't get a good scan, so I moved around the seat in front of me so she could get a better shot. She insisted I get out of the car.
At this point, I was really weirded out. The first thought I had was, "am I sick and I don't know it? I don't think I have a fever..." I started to climb out of the back of the minivan, which was a bit arduous considering I was wearing 4" heels and a tight sheath dress. I was also seriously, painfully carsick. Before I made it out of the car (I had just made it to the second row of seats) the border official said it was okay for me to return to my seat. What?
Well, basically it boiled down to, her suspicions were very much aroused when she saw a young looking Asian female woman in a car with five men, four of whom were white and, frankly, pretty old. I have no way to be certain, but I am guessing that she wanted to see for herself (1) if I would be allowed out of the car without protest, (2) whether I was bound or injured in any way and (3) my clothing and demeanor. She seemed satisfied once she saw my outfit and willingness to come out of the vehicle.
We all had a bit of a laugh about it after we pulled away from immigration, but afterward I felt unsettled by the whole thing. It was such a blunt and undeniable reminder that you are always recognized and defined first and foremost by your sex and your skin color.
I know the woman was just doing her job, and I believe she should absolutely have double checked. (Looking at the scene from a stranger's eyes, I can completely understand how weird the composition of the car passengers seemed. You might as well have put a neon banner on me, with blinking lights: "One of these may not belong").
For me, it was just one more revelation in a long day of revelations that this is something no white man would ever have to deal with - and just how much of an anomaly I can be in the law firm environment, even in this day and age, even in Asia.
I have frequently observed that I have been more aware of my race and gender while working in Asia, than anywhere else - which was kind of the opposite of what I expected when I moved out here. I think it has to do with the contrast at these law firms and banks and private equity firms - the partners in charge are still disproportionately white and male. The same problem exists in America, but it does not feel as stark as it does out here, because here they are in charge despite not being able to speak the language, and most are very removed from Asian cultures or customs. So why is that? Is this just the ugly vestige of colonialism?
All of these firms and companies around the world now talk the talk about recognizing difference and embracing diversity - but goodness, what do you do when you are singled out in front of your bosses at the immigration controls for being a potential sex slave? How do you come back from that? I guess by going back to work and proving your brilliance when you churn out a draft sale and purchase agreement just like the best of them? But how much easier and nicer it would be if you didn't have to try to redeem yourself from that position.
(Or what about the advice they used to give law students about not saying that you were married or making it very clear that pregnancy and motherhood would not change your commitment to the firm? Even if a firm claimed not to care about that, what about the fact that the woman even has to worry about that being a concern! A man would never have to work from that negative position. Studies show that marriage and kids only give the guy bonus points.)
I guess I am harping on this issue too because it is so hard to give concrete examples of how a minority or a female simply faces more barriers or stumbling blocks than someone who is not -- even if it's not always the company or the place of employment at fault. Sometimes it all feels so hopeless and weird, because it's life. And this is a pretty good example.
At Shenzhen, the border crossing consists of opening the car doors and the trunk, and passing over everyone's passports and, if you have them, your Hong Kong ID. The Shenzhen immigration official tries to match up each person with their purported picture, and when the documents are done and stamped, he passes everyone's documents back to the booth behind him, in which sits the Hong Kong immigration official. Another Hong Kong border crossing official comes out to the car with a temperature scanner, and rings everyone up by pointing the scanner gun at each person's forehead. After scanning my forehead, the woman asked me to step out of the car. I thought she just couldn't get a good scan, so I moved around the seat in front of me so she could get a better shot. She insisted I get out of the car.
At this point, I was really weirded out. The first thought I had was, "am I sick and I don't know it? I don't think I have a fever..." I started to climb out of the back of the minivan, which was a bit arduous considering I was wearing 4" heels and a tight sheath dress. I was also seriously, painfully carsick. Before I made it out of the car (I had just made it to the second row of seats) the border official said it was okay for me to return to my seat. What?
Well, basically it boiled down to, her suspicions were very much aroused when she saw a young looking Asian female woman in a car with five men, four of whom were white and, frankly, pretty old. I have no way to be certain, but I am guessing that she wanted to see for herself (1) if I would be allowed out of the car without protest, (2) whether I was bound or injured in any way and (3) my clothing and demeanor. She seemed satisfied once she saw my outfit and willingness to come out of the vehicle.
We all had a bit of a laugh about it after we pulled away from immigration, but afterward I felt unsettled by the whole thing. It was such a blunt and undeniable reminder that you are always recognized and defined first and foremost by your sex and your skin color.
I know the woman was just doing her job, and I believe she should absolutely have double checked. (Looking at the scene from a stranger's eyes, I can completely understand how weird the composition of the car passengers seemed. You might as well have put a neon banner on me, with blinking lights: "One of these may not belong").
For me, it was just one more revelation in a long day of revelations that this is something no white man would ever have to deal with - and just how much of an anomaly I can be in the law firm environment, even in this day and age, even in Asia.
I have frequently observed that I have been more aware of my race and gender while working in Asia, than anywhere else - which was kind of the opposite of what I expected when I moved out here. I think it has to do with the contrast at these law firms and banks and private equity firms - the partners in charge are still disproportionately white and male. The same problem exists in America, but it does not feel as stark as it does out here, because here they are in charge despite not being able to speak the language, and most are very removed from Asian cultures or customs. So why is that? Is this just the ugly vestige of colonialism?
All of these firms and companies around the world now talk the talk about recognizing difference and embracing diversity - but goodness, what do you do when you are singled out in front of your bosses at the immigration controls for being a potential sex slave? How do you come back from that? I guess by going back to work and proving your brilliance when you churn out a draft sale and purchase agreement just like the best of them? But how much easier and nicer it would be if you didn't have to try to redeem yourself from that position.
(Or what about the advice they used to give law students about not saying that you were married or making it very clear that pregnancy and motherhood would not change your commitment to the firm? Even if a firm claimed not to care about that, what about the fact that the woman even has to worry about that being a concern! A man would never have to work from that negative position. Studies show that marriage and kids only give the guy bonus points.)
I guess I am harping on this issue too because it is so hard to give concrete examples of how a minority or a female simply faces more barriers or stumbling blocks than someone who is not -- even if it's not always the company or the place of employment at fault. Sometimes it all feels so hopeless and weird, because it's life. And this is a pretty good example.
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