ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER WOMEN AND WORK: A BUFORD HIGHWAY SAFETY ASSESSMENT

Abstract

National data shows Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women are experiencing a rise in workplace hate incidents since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. During the Atlanta Spa Shootings in March 2021, six AAPI women were murdered in their metro Atlanta workplaces. This spurred demands for data on AAPI women’s intersectional experiences with workplace harassment. Since the Atlanta Spa Shootings, there has not been an assessment of AAPI women’s workplace safety in Atlanta. The Buford Highway Corridor, located within metro Atlanta cities Chamblee and Doraville, GA, has a concentrated and diverse mix of Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese-owned businesses, making it an area of interest for this study. This study was guided by the Asian Critical Theory to address the question: What are the characteristics of AAPI women’s experiences with harassment incidents in the workplaces located along the Buford Highway Corridor in Chamblee and Doraville, GA? An online exploratory structured survey questionnaire was developed for this study by adapting domains from previous studies on anti-AAPI hate incidents. Convenience sampling was used to recruit study participants through social media and community canvassing. Participants were AAPI women aged 18 years and over, who can read and write in English and have experienced a workplace harassment incident while working in a Buford Highway Corridor workplace within Chamblee or Doraville, GA. The final sample included 24 eligible participants. The study found sex and race/ethnicity were reported as the most common sociodemographic factors for being targeted in a workplace harassment incident. Verbal harassment/name calling and sexual harassment were the most common harassment types experienced by participants. White male co-workers were the most common harasser identified by study participants. Each participant experienced a unique emotional response after being harassed. This study provides researchers with a framework for studies involving AAPI women and harassment incidents. This study advanced the utilization of Asian Critical Theory, expanding its scope into the public health field. A practical application of the findings for public health is the development of a culturally competent intervention to train AAPI women in the study location to identify and report workplace harassment incidents.