"I was the model minority. Now I know it doesn’t protect us, it traps us." Heartbreaking #InTheirOwnVoices piece from a Chinese-Canadian on workplace harassment, being gaslit about her pregnancy (to the point of hiding morning sickness) and speaking up. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2021/04/25/i-was-the-model-minority-but-now-i-have-to-speak-up.html?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMedia&utm_campaign=OpinionContributor&utm_content=modelminority
She writes about how — in an open office — her director would yell at her about small spelling mistakes. "While my white colleagues got documents with track-changes, I got targeted with open, verbal corrections in our open office." https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2021/04/25/i-was-the-model-minority-but-now-i-have-to-speak-up.html?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMedia&utm_campaign=OpinionContributor&utm_content=modelminority
"Things became worse when I announced I was pregnant." For the next weeks, almost daily, she'd be questioned about why she had morning sickness to the point she'd run to the basement to throw up so her superiors and colleages wouldn't hear. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2021/04/25/i-was-the-model-minority-but-now-i-have-to-speak-up.html?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMedia&utm_campaign=OpinionContributor&utm_content=modelminority
Also, she had to disclose her pregnancy earlier than she wanted because her superior didn't allow her to take a sick day off. "But didn’t want to disclose my pregnancy early, in case I had a miscarriage." https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2021/04/25/i-was-the-model-minority-but-now-i-have-to-speak-up.html?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMedia&utm_campaign=OpinionContributor&utm_content=modelminority
The whole process caused so much grief, she eventually quit. "I felt that I could no longer take the daily criticism and commentary that made me feel like this ethnic body was growing something abnormal and I was worth much less." https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2021/04/25/i-was-the-model-minority-but-now-i-have-to-speak-up.html?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMedia&utm_campaign=OpinionContributor&utm_content=modelminority