AANHPI Heritage Month

May is Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, also known as AANHPI or AAPI Heritage Month.

Since the late 1500s — long before the United States gained independence — people of Asian and Pacific Island heritage have enriched the nation’s culture, customs, and traditions and worked alongside other immigrant communities to build its economic and intellectual strengths. Yet there is also a long through line of traumatic history surrounding Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, including many long-festering stereotypes surrounding immigrant identity, ‘model minority’ myths, and ethnocentrism.

Dialogues about these issues have and will continue to be relevant to the development of effective and inclusive professional spaces. Moreover, recognizing and celebrating employees’ racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds can be crucial to building psychological safety and enhancing employee engagement.

Celebrating Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the workplace is an excellent way to achieve that goal — but May should not be the only month when the contributions of these communities are valued and recognized. Cultural curiosity and historical awareness should be explored all year long.