The 'glass ceiling' is a well-known term; it's an invisible barrier of bias that frequently keeps women in male-dominated organisations and industries from advancing to the highest levels of leadership. What's less well known is the 'bamboo ceiling': a similar barrier of bias that exists in some of the world's largest companies and has the same effect on minorities everywhere.

One noticeable example in the APAC region is Singapore, says Dave Altman, Chief Research and Innovation Officer of the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL).

“Singapore has the highest number of regional headquarters of any country in Asia Pacific, but Singaporean talent that is striving for regional or global roles hits the bamboo ceiling,” Altman told People Matters. “According to research that we did recently with the American Chamber of Commerce, only three out of 10 companies have Singaporeans making up more than half of their senior level workforce. And this is a problem in Asia. It's a problem in Western countries. It involves, in this case, Asians and Asian Americans, but it extends to all kinds of other groups.”

But why these skewed numbers, especially with all the work companies are trying to do on diversity?

It's an inbuilt issue of stereotyping and bias, Altman says. “Humans have about 180 documented biases, and these biases exist because we have simplify incoming information in order to function. So our brains are wired to create shortcuts and those shortcuts can lead to over simplified associations. And then we categorise people.”

He identifies three specific biases that play a role in the development of a bamboo ceiling. One is the in group bias, where leaders and those selecting leaders will tend to favour people who are in their own in group, whether that is country of origin, gender, or even social status. This bias goes hand in hand with the affinity bias, in which people favour those who share similar interests, experience, food preferences, backgrounds and characteristics.

What these two biases means is that in a company made up predominantly of non-Asian expatriate talent, the in group is going to be other non-Asian expatriates, and that same group will also appear more attractive to leaders.

At the same time, the attribution bias is likely to override whatever organisational mandate exists to advance Asian leaders. In this context, says Altman, the attribution bias causes those evaluating Asian talent to believe that success achieved by Asians is more attributable to external factors than to their own abilities – which translates into overlooking the competence or potential or Asian talent.

“The reason Asian talent is not advancing is not because of inherent abilities. It's because there is bias within the company,” Altman says.

How fixable is this bias problem?

It's fixable, Altman believes – but it takes a lot of hard work to even admit that there is a problem in the first place. Organisations are already aware of the upsides to diversity and inclusion, and the downsides to ignoring it. But corporate culture often tends toward inertia, and even the most forward-thinking leaders may not always be open to the idea that their best efforts aren't good enough.

A good place to start is with hiring, Altman says. “We need to interrogate our hiring practices. Not just evaluate, but interrogate, be very strong in looking at our hiring and promotion practices. Look under every rock to ensure that they're fair and unbiased, and that they're not being influenced by stereotyping.”

“What I often hear leaders say, in Asia and elsewhere, is well, we just picked the best candidate. Fine, but if you don't pay attention to the pipeline of candidates that then make it to the final pool, then you're engaging in biased practices.”

The push against bias can't stop at hiring, either. There is a need for active sponsorship – as differentiated from mentorship, Altman says – and that's where leaders have to take individual responsibility.

“If you as a senior person with privilege are not sponsoring, if you're just giving advice and being a sounding board but not opening doors, not advocating, not pushing back against the powers that be whether they're at the global headquarters in the West, or whether they're leaders within Asia – then you're not embracing equity, diversity, or inclusion. You've got to advocate. You've got to use your power and your privilege and your position to change that standard way of operating.”

One of the most immediate ways to make an impact, he suggests, is to simply take a risk on Asian talent – to provide them with openings to prove themselves as the leaders of regional or global groups, and to actively avoid falling into the mindset that just because they are already doing well, they do not need additional opportunities.

Think of it in terms of breaking down silos

“If you are a global organisation, but you're siloed by region, your bamboo ceiling issue becomes more severe,” Altman says. “You might have significant operations in Asia, but if you see them as an island off somewhere away from the headquarters, that creates barriers to leveraging talent in those parts of the world.”

Barriers like that tend to be built right into organisational culture, he points out, which is why everyone with the ability to tackle the issue needs to put weight into breaking down the walls – not even the CEO of the organisation can accomplish that alone.

“Every conversation is an opportunity to shine a light on the bamboo ceiling and take a hammer and begin to break it a little bit,” he says. “It's not just about issuing a new policy. It's about the reality: what's happening day by day, conversation by conversation. What's happening when promotions don't occur, what's happening when performance is evaluated, et cetera. If you're engaging in conversation and dialogue, interrogating policies and working together as one organisation, then that ceiling is more apt to break open.”