Here’s what five scholars and community leaders had to say about Asian American research and representation at the February 23rd “Asian Americans in Focus” panel hosted by Columbia’s Asian American Initiative. 

This Monday at 5:30 pm, I joined a Zoom meeting held by the Asian American Initiative at Columbia for their “Asian Americans in Focus” panel, intrigued by the discussion’s focus on analyzing issues and information that pertain specifically to Asian Americans. While originally an in-person panel, this event was switched to virtual due to the blizzard. Nevertheless, panelists and attendees brought their utmost enthusiasm and curiosity. While each researcher had their distinct areas of focus, their insights made one thing clear: without stronger and more data in general, Asian American communities remain misunderstood and underrepresented. 

Hosted by Qin Gao, the Acting Director of the Asian American Initiative and Professor of Social Policy and Social Work in Columbia’s School of Social Work, and moderated by Van Tran, a professor of Sociology and International Migration Studies at CUNY Graduate Center, this event featured five panelists with extensive experiences in Asian American research, data collection, and a passion for community engagement. Each panelist was provided several minutes to introduce their research and specific findings, and the second half of the panel was dedicated to a Q&A session, open to all attendees, Columbia and non-Columbia affiliates alike. 

Xi Song, a Professor of Sociology at Columbia, opened up the panel with her historical research approach. Analyzing data over the past two centuries, one of Dr. Song’s key findings was that the educational advantage of Asians in the US emerged during the Exclusion Period, particularly among the 1910 study cohort. However, that educational attainment did not immediately translate to higher occupational mobility. During this period, Asian Americans were found to have had lower mobility due to structural barriers. Education, therefore, was not a direct indicator of employment due to discrimination. 

Building on the theme of structural inequality, Stacie Tao, a social welfare policy researcher at the University of Chicago, presented “Beyond the Averages: Intra-Asian American Disparities in Poverty.” Comparing the Official Poverty Measure (OPM) and the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) across racial categories, Dr. Tao explained that there are “wide disparities that exist among Asian American ethnicities.” Specifically, there was a 6.2% gap between OPM and SPM for Asian Americans, a larger difference compared to the 1.3% gap for White Americans, 0.4% for Black Americans, 1.9% for American Indian/Alaska Native populations, and 3.6% for Latinos. The finding that especially struck me was the high variance in poverty levels among Asian ethnicities. Indian Americans had the lowest Asian American SPM rate of 11%, while the rate for Mongolian Americans is 35%. While the general focus on Asian American research is increasing, it is also important to consider the different needs between the ethnicities as well. 

During the open Q&A, one attendee asked whether analyzing Asian Americans by breaking down the population into ethnicities changed research conclusions or highlighted the limits of treating Asians as a single category. Sruthi Chandrasekaran, Director of Data and Research at The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) responded in a Zoom comment that it is “more around the latter.” In her youth mental health research, LGBTQ+ individuals, women, 18-25 year-olds, and first-generation respondents were more at risk. According to Chandrasekaran, “it helps to highlight that we are not a monolith.” 

Chandrasekaran’s presentation centered around TAAF’s research into Asian American youth mental health. Founded in 2021 in response to the rise in Asian hate in the US over the COVID-19 period, TAAF is dedicated to ensuring support for all Asian Americans. TAAF has been conducting surveys over the past five years to assess the general American perception of Asian Americans. In 2021, they found that 21% of Americans believed Asian Americans were more loyal to their countries of origin than to the U.S. By 2025, that number had surged to 40% who either strongly or somewhat agreed. 

Additionally, TAAF’s 2024 youth mental health study, “Beyond the Surface,” revealed that three in ten young AANHPI individuals reported having planned or attempted suicide in their lifetime, and 93% experienced some form of race-based discrimination in the past year. These statistics reflect the alarming reality that Asian Americans are still seen as foreigners by many. 

TAAF’s efforts stress the need for more specific data, and Amplify AAPI, an organization launched in November 2023 in partnership with the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, conducts surveys that span different AANHPI communities. Panelist and lead of Amplify AAPI, Alex Chew, discussed the significance of creating more ethnically and linguistically inclusive surveys. According to Chew’s presentation, “Building a first-of-its-kind representative panel like Amplify AAPI isn’t trivial.” Historically, standalone surveys of AANHPI populations were methodologically weak. Amplify AAPI’s goal is to change this, and they have greatly invested in more infrastructure since 2022, expanded community engagement in 2023, and now conduct surveys in five languages. Now, they aim to represent the seven largest communities. One major consideration in the expansion of this project is finances, as the growth of these surveys is an “expensive endeavor,” Chew explained. Maintaining such a large survey with 6,000 respondents can cost around $500,000, and Amplify AAPI recently lost a $1 million grant. Even so, there have been many successes, with 92% of households surveyed reporting satisfaction with the process.

The importance of surveys was further highlighted by the final panelist, Christopher Wimer, a Senior Research Scientist in Columbia’s School of Social Work. Dr. Wimer turned the conversation local, discussing a long-standing poverty study conducted in partnership with Robin Hood, New York City’s largest poverty-fighting organization. Since 2012, this project has followed representative samples of adults, surveying them every three months to track income and mobility out of poverty. Originally conducted only in English and Spanish, the survey expanded in 2020 to include Mandarin, Vietnamese and Korean, allowing researchers to better assess Asian American experiences in the city. When asked what comes to mind when the phrase Asian American is said, Dr. Wimer responded with “tremendous experiences across geography and local communities.” I found it reassuring to learn about how this survey is not only trying to understand NYC poverty trends, but also the diversity of experiences. 

Overall, I found this panel to be an extremely valuable and educational experience that shed light on the importance of Asian American and AANHPI representation. The panelists were clearly all extremely passionate about their work. From analyzing both historical and present-day data to promoting youth mental health awareness and more inclusive survey methodologies, Asian Americans in Focus emphasizes the urgent necessity of standing up for this community. 

Image via Columbia University Center for the Study of Ethnicity & Race