Thesis advisor: Belle Liang / Research on women's voice and self-silencing has shown that girls begin to silence themselves during adolescence in response to sociocultural pressures to conform to gender norms and as a way to stay relationally connected with others. While the literature on voice for women has been extensive, it has centered primarily on the experiences of European-American women, which may not be generalizable to other ethnic/racial groups. This study extends existing research by examining voice experiences for Asian American women specifically. Given the multiple minority statuses and social roles that are a part of Asian American women's identities, the current study examined the intersecting influences of gender, race, culture, and power, in the experience of voice and authenticity. Specifically, this study explored voice for these women in different social contexts where issues of gender, race and power tend to be salient. Additionally, the study examined the role of racism-related stress and culture in self-silencing. Finally, associations between voice, support for voice, and psychological wellbeing were assessed. Findings indicated that levels of voice, as well as levels of perceived support for voice varied by social context, providing evidence for the importance of social climate in voice. In general, both voice and perceived support for voice were higher in settings with minimal power differentials (i.e., with female and Asian peers vs. with authority figures). In two of the social contexts of interest (i.e., non-Asian peers and male authority figures), racism-related stress was significantly associated with lower levels of voice. Self-construal, which was used as an indicator of cultural tendencies, was also significantly associated with voice; individuals with an independent style had more voice, and those with an interdependent style had less voice. Higher levels of voice were associated with higher perceived support for voice. And ultimately, higher voice was linked with better psychological outcomes. Implications for research, work/school settings, and clinical practice were discussed, as well as limitations and suggestions for future research. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 213-237). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Although women have been progressing in the U.S labor force into supervisory and management positions, the number of Asian American women in leadership roles continues to be limited. There is support in the literature for research on factors associated with the leadership development of Asian American women. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the racial and gender experiences and perspectives of 7 Asian American women in U.S. health care organizations and how they developed into leaders. Feminist and sociocultural theories were applied to gain insight. Interviews were carried out to comprehend the manner in which gender and racial characteristics informed the leadership styles of the 7 Asian American female participants selected using a purposive sampling method. Thematic analysis yielded 5 key themes (destined to accomplish, support from unexpected, disadvantages incurred from race and gender, according to the rules, and kind deeds). The findings offer an enhanced explanation of the lived experience of these Asian American women and how racial and gender characteristics influenced different parts of their intentionality and shaped their relations within organizations. In particular, the participants described encountering traditional gender biases, stereotypes and cultural assumptions that hindered their sense of belonging and perhaps influenced and impelled their success. In addition to contributing to the literature, the study may offer useful insight to Asian American women seeking leadership positions. Furthering Asian American women's prospects in organizational leadership positions may promote more diversity in the U.S workforce and address inequalities.

No description available.

With few Asian American women executives, little is known of how they reach to the top leadership roles. The purpose of this study was to explore how Asian American women learned and unlearned to overcome barriers and additional activities they engaged in to achieve career upward mobility at large corporations. The study sought to answer three main questions: (a) how do Asian American women describe the challenges they face in advancing their careers; (b) how do they describe how they learn to overcome the challenges they face; (c) what other activities do they engage in to advance their careers. To achieve this purpose, the researchers employed a qualitative, embedded single-case approach drawing upon the career experiences of 26 Asian American women from financial and technology industries at Fortune 500 companies with three data collection methods: (a) a demographic inventory survey and an assessment of perceived bicultural self-efficacy, (b) semi-structured interviews, and (c) focus group. Three key findings emerged: (a) a majority of participants experienced perceptual, organizational and personal barriers in advancing their careers, with nuances in how they experienced them based on career stages, industries, and the immigration process; (b) through critical reflections, a majority of participants unlearned certain Asian cultural values or gender expectations and mastered the experiences and career mobility actions that helped them overcome barriers. They also exercised self-efficacy and received external validation to reinforce their learnings that contributed to career advancements; and (c) all participants enlisted efforts from professional and personal networks to advance their careers, while a majority found organizational activities helpful in their leadership development and career progression. The principal recommendations of this study have implications for Asian American women who are interested in pursuing executive roles, human resources professionals and leaders who are committed to improve organizational diversity and inclusion practices, and adult learning researchers who would like to expand the theory building of transformative unlearning.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, History of Art, Design and Visual Culture, Dept. of Art and Design, University of Alberta. "Spring 2010." Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on April 27, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, History of Art, Design and Visual Culture, Dept. of Art and Design, University of Alberta. "Spring 2010." Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on April 27, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of the study was to investigate Oriental women's clothing acquisition behaviors and to compare their body measurements with the measurements listed in Voluntary Product Standard, PS 42-70. A questionnaire was administered to 101 Oriental women residing in Tucson, Arizona. Thirty-nine body measurements were taken from each subject in the sample. The major type of store used most frequently was department store. It appears that Oriental women were not impulsive buyers or influenced by suggestive selling techniques but highly represented careful shopping characteristics. Fit was the most important consideration in purchasing a garment. Newspapers were the major information source of fashion for Oriental women. A significant fitting problem area appeared in garment length when Oriental women purchased ready-to-wear. Bigger differences were found in vertical than the circumference body measurements for Oriental women when the mean of body measurements was compared with the PS 42-70 measurements.

No description available.

The current study examined the interrelationships among womanist identity, cultural identity, acculturation, and self-esteem in 74 Asian American women who are currently enrolled in or who have graduated from a college or university in the United States. It was hypothesized that Internalization attitudes, cultural identity, and acculturation would predict self-esteem among Asian American women. It was also hypothesized that cultural identity (Ethnic Identification) and acculturation would be negatively correlated with each other. Results of the simultaneous multiple regression analysis indicated that Internalization attitudes and cultural identity were both significant predictors of self-esteem. Asian American women with higher levels of Internalization attitudes had higher levels of self-esteem, consistent with Ossana, Helms, and Leonard's (1992) study. Asian American women with higher levels of Marginal attitudes had lower levels of self-esteem. Results, however, yielded no significant relationship between acculturation and self-esteem. A correlational analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between cultural identity (Ethnic Identification) and acculturation, confirming Lee's (1988) assertion that acculturation decreases cultural identity. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services