The COVID pandemic impacted everyone. In a previous blog post “Embracing Culture and Choosing to Educate Despite Discrimination,” we spoke with Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) women founders about their experiences during the global crises.
Some AAPI entrepreneurs faced intense discrimination and were targets of race-driven acts. According to a Forbes article, the number of active AAPI business owners fell by 20% from February through December 2020, compared to just 3% of Black and Hispanic businesses.
Hopefully, with the worst of the pandemic behind us, AAPI founded businesses are on the rise. According to Hello Alice data, AAPI businesses are concentrated in specific industries, being more than twice as likely to operate in the food and beverage sector.
We provided a platform to some of those AAPI food and beverage entrepreneurs to share how they want to be viewed. Here are their responses.
According to the 2023 State of Asian Americans in the United States (STAATUS) Index, nearly four out of five Asian Americans (78%) don’t feel like they belong or are fully accepted because of continuing prejudice and a lack of representation. Similarly, a new Pew study shares that nearly two in five Asian Americans aged 18-29 (and one in five overall) say they’ve hidden parts of their heritage from others to avoid embarrassment and discrimination. May is Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, but we need to show tolerance and respect towards our AAPI neighbors year-round whether it’s by guiding them to resources, providing a platform to share their stories, or learning about their culture.
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