Asian Parents, Stop Idealizing White English Teachers
Racial discrimination in the English-teaching industry

Growing up in Asia in an Asian family, I’ve been a witness to this preference towards white teachers for as long as I can remember. When I was in pre-school, my family was concerned that my teacher was Filipino. If they were paying for international education, they wanted the best, and in their mind, that was a Caucasian teacher.

My family isn’t alone in this. Many other families have similar preferences, causing schools and English-language tutoring centers to outright discriminate against non-white teachers, despite them being qualified.

In Asia, the anti-discrimination laws don’t work like they do in the US. That Title VII box that you have to tick every time you apply to a job in the US that prevents the employer from discriminating based on race, color, class, etc. — that doesn’t really exist in Asia. Of course, laws vary across Asia, but that usually won’t stop a potential employer from asking you about your race, age, nationality, and more.

As a result, it’s not uncommon to see postings that outwardly discriminate, like this international kindergarten in Taiwan that will “not accept applications from people who are black or dark-skinned”. Or this job advertisement in Hong Kong for a “Caucasian” English Teacher. And as a result, there’s a salary discrepancy between Caucasians and other races; as one teacher in Thailand states, “salary was dictated by our skin color and not our ability to deliver”.

There are countless stories out there about non-white folks getting denied a job based on race and a plethora of examples of discriminatory job postings. And this is perpetuating in the industry because of the preferences of families in Asia.

So, families and parents in Asia, listen up — this is for you.
['Toffy Char']
['Teaching', 'Asia', 'Racism', 'English Language', 'English']