Australia has a significant and growing Asian Australian community, at around 17.4 per cent of the total population. Despite our enormous contributions to the cultural, economic, social and political fabric of the nation, Asian Australians continue to face persistent barriers to mobility. In particular, despite being present and active in every aspect of Australian life and enterprise, we encounter resistance to, and recurrent obstacles in, reaching positions of leadership. Questions of, and concerns around, what is euphemistically termed as the “bamboo ceiling” arise repeatedly, both in perception and practice.  

Since the early 2010s, there has been sustained discussion about participation and leadership, and a number of studies about representations of Asian Australians in areas of national importance have emerged. In particular, 2019 saw a gathering of forces arguing for, and presenting facts and statistics about, the lack of Asian Australian leadership: these include, but are not limited to, Asialink’s Asian Australian Leadership Summit (in partnership with ANU and PwC), Diversity Arts Australia’s landmark report, Shifting the Balance: Cultural Diversity in Leadership Within the Australian Arts, Screen and Creative Sectors, and the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods’ report on Asian- Australian experiences of Discrimination.  

Despite the above much-needed movement in Asian Australian representation, the force-field of Asian Australian leadership has shifted but marginally. This project is interested in the stories, narratives and testimonies above and beyond statistics and strategies. What are the ways in which leadership is envisioned and encountered among Asian Australians? Is there such a thing as a distinctive Asian Australian leadership? What lessons can we glean from differential perspectives and oppositional approaches to posit a new understanding of leadership in Asian Australian communities? One anticipated outcome of the project is an edited collection of scholarly essays, position papers and creative interventions that explore Asian Australian experiences and encounters in leadership.  

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