Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

When I was first approached to write about Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I was excited and couldn’t wait to get started. However, as I started to think about it, I was overwhelmed by how little I knew of this large, diverse, hardworking, and brilliant community in United States and around the world. As I thought more, I came to the realization that, living in North America for the past three decades and working for a global, multinational organization like Honeywell, the learning and awareness of a multitude of cultures and heritages happened organically for me. The opportunity to collaborate with people around the globe and being exposed to many diverse cultures and heritage on regular basis was a given. So, the fact that I have had colleagues, bosses, mentors and friends from India, China, Mexico, France, Haiti, Brazil, Venezuela, Costa Rica, the US, and Canada wasn’t unusual. I saw them do remarkable things every day and thought nothing of it. They were simply great people; it didn’t matter where they were from. Yet as I reflect on my journey thus far, I feel deep appreciation for the richness of experiences I have had.

Born and raised in a close-knit community of a small town in India, I moved to Canada in 1990 as a young woman right out of college with an undergraduate degree in engineering. It feels strange to write this, but I learned a lot more about even Indian culture, traditions, languages, and food from living in the vibrant, multicultural city of Toronto compared to my life in India; simply due to the richness of interactions all around me. Multicultural had a lot to do with it…where else but Toronto would you have a vast selection of Indian style Chinese food joints? Yes, there is such a thing and if you haven’t tried it you haven’t lived. As I went from being a newbie in Toronto to becoming a young new ‘stay at home’ mom of two beautiful boys to an accidental IT professional these multicultural interactions grew and became part of the fabric of life at work, in community, at my kids’ school and at social events. I lived, learned, and grew from those experiences.

Things that have left a mark on me are:

• everyone, irrespective of their heritage, had a love for the land they came from but also for the land they have chosen to call home,
• each had a spirit of giving back but also the innate desire to make lives better for themselves and their loved ones, and
• they have the same struggles as anyone else – being a good parent, caring for their aging parents, keeping some traditions alive while letting others go as life happens. In a way no different from anyone else.

I marvel not so much at how different we are but how similar we are despite where we come from, our food, our garb, language, and traditions. I marvel at the resilience, ability to dream big and perseverance of our communities to make it happen.

Gandhi said – Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization. This month as we celebrate Asia/Pacific heritage, let’s take a pause and appreciate this beauty of our civilization and read on to find out how you can get more engaged and be part of these experiences.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Background

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPIHM) – a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).

Like most commemorative months, AAPIHM originated with Congress. In June 1978, Rep. Horton introduced House Joint Resolution 1007. This resolution proposed that the President should “proclaim a week, which is to include the seventh and tenth of the month, during the first ten days in May of 1979 as ‘Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.’” This joint resolution was passed by the House and then the Senate and was signed by President Jimmy Carter on October 5, 1978, to become Public Law 95-419 (PDF, 158kb). This law amended the original language of the bill and directed the President to issue a proclamation for the “7-day period beginning on May 4, 1979, as ‘Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.’” During the next decade, presidents passed annual proclamations for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week until 1990 when Congress passed Public Law 101-283 (PDF, 166kb) which expanded the observance to a month for 1990. Then in 1992, Congress passed Public Law 102-450 (PDF, 285kb) which annually designated May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.

The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. Many of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.

Quest Recognizes Members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community

Quest is a community that has been extremely fortunate to have had a number of people from the Asian and Pacific Islander community positively impact the organization, and the community it serves, over its 25+ years of existence. It is impossible to name them all, but here are a few of the highly impactful people in and around the greater Oracle community.

Mary June Dorsey, Vice President, Oracle PeopleSoft Support
Mary June Dorsey is well known to members of our PeopleSoft user community. Mary June has regularly attended Quest events, delivering valuable customer support sessions and meeting with customers to help them resolve important service issues. Mary June has also been a strong advocate for customer to get involved in the Quest community and helping customers gain greater satisfaction with their Oracle investments.

Chacko Thomas, Americas Oracle Leader, IBM
Chacko Thomas has been an active member and supporter of Quest for more than 20 years. Under Chacko’s leadership, IBM has been recognized with Quest’s Chairperson Award, Quest’s highest honor given to the top contributing partner for the year. Over the years, Chacko has established himself as a leading contributor in the Quest community delivering thought leadership sessions, providing practical guidance, and serving as a member of Quest’s Vendor Advisory Council.

Doris Wong, CEO, Smart ERP Solutions, Inc.
Doris Wong has been involved in the Quest community for 20 years. Doris played a key role in establishing a positive and productive working relationship between Quest and the Oracle PeopleSoft division, as she served as the Group Vice President & General Manager of Oracle PeopleSoft. Since 2009, Doris has continued to support the community as the CEO of Smart ERP Solutions, contributing as a thought leader, advocate, and sponsor of Quest events.

sAchin cHoudhari, Founder & CEO, Circular Edge
sAchin cHoudhari has been an active member of the Quest community for 20 years. Under sAchin’s leadership, Circular Edge has grown its involvement in the Quest community and has become one of the more prominent contributors, creating value to the customer community in a variety of ways. sAchin’s individual contributions have been recognized with Quest’s Business Partner Distinguished Service Award, one of Quest’s highest honors for members within Quest’s partner community.

Organizations at the Intersection of Technology and Asian Americans and/or Pacific Islanders

As part of honoring AAPIHM, Quest compiled a list of organizations with a focus on technology within the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Here are just a few:

Asian Americans Advancing Justice
Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) is a nonprofit that works to advance civil and human rights for Asian and Pacific Islanders and to build an equitable society for all people. The group also focuses on telecommunications and technology to fight against bias in tech. From privacy to algorithmic biases to facial recognition technology, the AAJC hopes to provide resources and conversation around these important tech issues.

Ascend Pan-Asian Leaders
Ascend Pan-Asian Leaders is the largest nonprofit membership organization for Pan-Asian business professionals in the United States. While the organization focuses more broadly on the business world, Ascend can still be a great resource for Asian American and Pacific Islanders looking to launch or lead tech businesses. Ascend offers a bevy of educational and career resources for Asian American professionals that can be useful no matter where you are in your journey.

California Software Professional Association
The California Software Professional Association promotes leadership, community, and entrepreneurship in technology with a focus on the Asian American demographic. The organization has a 30+ year history in Silicon Valley and offers events such as mixers, startup visits, and lab tours. Getting involved with the California Software Professional Association can help California-based tech workers get connected with potential business partners, employers, and others in the software engineering field. Read more on the CSPA website.

South Pacific Islander Organization
The South Pacific Islander Organization (SPIO) works to advance the representation of the Pacific Islander community in higher education, professional fields, and in the media. The South Pacific Islander Organization achieves this mission through leadership development, storytelling, and community-building programs. Pacific Islanders in tech who are interested in networking, mentorship, and virtual events can get involved with the nonprofit’s offerings here.

Ideas and Resources to Celebrate AAPIH Month

Below are recommendations on how individuals and organizations can honor Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and insight into the diversity & inclusion best practices of Quest member organizations.

Get Engaged Locally
There are opportunities taking place in your local community. We encourage our members to research those opportunities, such as local festivals, markets and more to evaluate how they can get involved, as an individual or as a company to support those important activities in your local community.

Virtual Opportunities
Did you know that Unexpected Virtual Tours is an Asian American-founded company? A few of their favorite AAPIHM ideas:

• Host a tea tasting.
  Enjoy the tastes and history of traditional Chinese tea with a Chinese Tea Tasting class for your team.
• Visit museums & sites highlighting AAPI art and history.
  • Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
  • Wing Luke Museum, Seattle Washington
  • Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, DC
  • Museum of Chinese in America, New York, NY
• Read books and listen to podcasts from AAPI authors and creators.
  Podcasts are a terrific way to learn something new. And listening to a podcast is a wonderful way to hear voices and stories directly from specific communities.
• Attend a local festival or market.
  Attending locally led festivals and events is a fantastic way to connect with and learn about different communities. Partake in appreciation of AAPI culture by attending a community celebration led by your area’s local groups.
• Partner with AAPI-owned businesses
  Another way to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month is to incorporate working with AAPI-owned businesses. As a team, evaluate what companies you regularly do business with throughout your work. Then, determine how you may expand your list to incorporate businesses with AAPI representation.

Activities From Within the Oracle Communities

Oracle – Oracle Professional Asian Leadership: Oracle’s Fastest Growing Employee Resource Group – While the Oracle Professional Asian Leadership’s history may still be young, it is undeniably rich in achievement. Since 2015, the employee resource group has flourished to serve employees in five different continents, offering opportunities for mentorship, networking cultural awareness and community engagement. Read more about Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month at Oracle

Travelers – Travelers recognizes that building for the future also requires that they maintain their talent advantage. In that regard, diversity and inclusion is a stated business imperative for Travelers. Travelers believes in creating a welcoming environment that brings together people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, they enable new ideas, innovation and a culture in which employees feel valued, respected, and supported. Here are a few of the D&I initiatives at Travelers:

• Inclusive Leadership Performance Objective
• Conscious Inclusion Diversity Education
• Diversity Speaks Events
• Diversity Networks

Learn more about Travelers D&I efforts.

Edwards Lifesciences – Diversity allows us to achieve more, together. We’re driving change in an evolving industry, and we understand that a diverse and inclusive culture isn’t just the right choice for our people, it’s also the right choice for our patients. We believe that diversity and inclusion are essential to creating an environment where all our employees can grow and thrive. Edwards Lifesciences has a number of initiatives, including:

• Employee Resource Groups (ERG)
• Women in Leadership
• Community Outreach
• Fair & Equitable Pay
• enABLE

Learn more about Edwards Lifesciences’ D&I initiatives.

Deloitte – At Deloitte, diversity, equity, and inclusion are core to our values. From the moment our people walk in the door through each development opportunity, they are empowered to show up authentically, grow to their full potential, and live purposeful lives.

Based on Deloitte’s research, there are six inclusive leadership behaviors that are reinforced in Deloitte’s culture to empower everyone to personalize, identify, model and advance DEI. Those behaviors are:

• Commitment
• Courage
• Curiosity
• Collaboration
• Cultural Intelligence
• Cognizance of Bias

Learn more about inclusive leadership behaviors and Deloitte’s comprehensive D&I efforts.

Thank you for joining Quest in celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

With gratitude,
Madhuri