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Proportionally to the US population, it’s probably consistent, contrary to your expectations. If you’re referring to why they’re not over-represented like males in general in finance, it’s prob because they aren’t pushed to the field by culture like they are to tech or medicine. I am 100% sure there are more male Asians in finance than female Asians in finance.

 

I like how you assume that Asians rushing a frat makes it bottom tier lmao. Anyway, at my ivy, WAY more East Asians rush and they are way more assimilated. Maybe like 10 East Asian kids rushed my frat this year whereas maybe 1-2 Indian kids did. That being said, unfortunately, none got bids and I continue to be the only non-white person in my frat. Oh well.

 

As an Indian guy this is 100% false. Without going into a 20 page sociological explanation regarding how skin tone and colourist ideologies subconsciously effect us, asian guys are basically white guys from a different country who enjoy eating different food. There are many asians who either change their name or are given an english name at birth in order to conform and avoid being outcasted. It makes it so much easier for someone to call someone Joe or Tyler instead of Hassan or Kumar therefore this makes their assimilation far easier into the subconscious of society which produces greater results in dating, in the general perception combine that with their academic and professional accomplishments and the skin tone this is a successful combination for conformity.

 

Interestingly in the UK it's different - Indians and South Asians in general have assimilated much better into society; I also get really confused at how americans tend to split races so broadly - won't an Indian/Asian raised in the US carry more american traits? Atleast that's how it is here.

 
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Asian males are 3% of the U.S. population. If anything, they’re ‘over-represented’ (don’t like the word since they’ve earned their spots) in IB from what I’ve seen.

Do you go to a good school? You’re probably just used to seeing a lot more Asians, given they kick ass and take names academically. In a truly national sense, they’re a much smaller portion of the pool.

 

Jesus, the generalizations in this thread is ridiculous - plenty of social East and South Asians, and plenty of shy/nerdy ones as well, just like white people. Not all white people are Chads - plenty of pimpled neckbeards who sit at home playing video games; they're just a majority so the frat houses are filled with the "social ones".

Most Asians raised in America turn out fine, it's typically because a lot of international students study here, and they bring along whatever stereotypes they're typically linked to.

 
"ibd-london" The least represented group is blacks

I've always wondered why this is the case. I'm half black and while it's not hard to fit in, it's interesting to not see other black people across IB/PE...

 

I don't wanna jump in those waters since it's always goes down a slippery slope, but I think the main reason is lack of interest and knowledge.

The black people I know from school majored in comms or marketing and really weren't interested in finance or econ. Can't say the reason since I don't know but I think the reasons are what I said above. Maybe if they saw more people in industry, like yourself, then they would consider it. I don't know your experience, but I'm sure for some it would be intimidating gunning for a job where no one else may look like you

 

you're not very popular or cool yourself. even though you think your social your friends group is very small because you work 80 hours a week while the girls are hanging out with the black guys. black guys are much more social than white guys, especially around white girls.

 

I am a Pakistani in high finance. Never had any problems assimilating. I have more white friends than I do Brown. I have had more luck with white women than brown, who generally find me repulsive. I think the reason why I’ve been able to integrate so well is I am not a Pakistani in the truest sense - I have a British / American accent (I have lived away from home since I was 18 and I’m now 31), I am assertive and confident in the way I speak, and I have hobbies that are reflective of a well-bred mammal (I play squash, tennis, golf, and am well-versed in the global topics)...all these things matter. At the end of the day this is a client-relationship business

 

Agreed with this as a guy of Indian descent in NYC. Born and bred in the US with a good upbringing, Candidly, which is why I'm posting anonymously, I'm a good looking dude with a good job and generally put together life in terms of what the outside world sees of me and I am really thankful for this. I have no issue with chicks or anything of that sort (except Asian girls but whatevs). But it wasn't always like that - got a lot of both in-your-face / subtle racism, usually phrased as "jokes", and bullying growing up throughout middle school and high school. And I grew up in a very liberal state. Seems like once I got to college a switch was flipped and people stopped having such bigoted views etc.

The reason I mentioned looks above is that I've noticed it's been a huge factor in how people treat me or others. A lot of my white friends still think its fine to make a passive racist comment about another indian dude who might not be the best looking dude to my face which is really bizarre because it leads me to believe that they either 1) forget I'm indian or 2) are retarded.

I know this is disorganized but is stuff I have noticed and been through^

 

I get second-hand cringe from this comment. It’s good that you love playing sports and have a comfortable time assimilating to other cultures, but using the word “well-bred” for that? Holy. I beg to differ, Mr. PE Associate. Here we have someone who thinks, or at least implies, he’s better than anyone of his social group because he does the same basic things everyone else’s doing. I’m glad you love doing these things, but acting you’re better for doing them is just pure cringe.   
 

 

Try to go to see the hedge fund demographics in Chicago. That's where they are at. They went to focus on quant and trading roles instead. I guess with IBD and PE there's an element of presenting and public speaking perhaps they are not comfortable with. Whether this will slowly change with time, perhaps as more Asian kids diversify away from taking hardcore STEM courses in university...

 

Here's a few Asians doing just okay...

Kewsong Lee - Co-CEO of the Carlyle Group and Chairman of Carlyle's Executive Group

Joseph Bae - Co-COO and Co-President of KKR

Michael Chu - Co-CEO of L Catterton

 

That’s because Asians/Indians are quite socially awkward and don’t integrate well. Not all of them, but the vast majority are way too cultural and are nerdy Comp Sci/engineering guys. Asians still do better than Indians because of them adopting Christian names and some of them being super chill. Can’t say that about Indians. Pakistanis/middle easterners integrate a lot better.

 

As others have mentioned, a lot of misconceptions in this thread, but I'll try state some observations.

East Asians do face some cultural barriers in IB/PE. "Bamboo ceilings" exist, especially in America, where you see East Asian analysts/associates but less often in VP+ roles, which require less analytical work and more sales/relationship management skills. It shows from a young age - my friends in undergrad mostly found networking challenging. Regardless how good they were at it, people generally lacked enthusiasm for assertively meeting strangers. It arguably stems from traditional East Asian cultures being more reserved; not that it's wrong, it's just less compatible with high finance culture in the Western World.

Again, other cultures may face these obstacles too, and I'm not making any claims about over/under-representation in the field. These are simply reflections from my experience with close friends, including international students, Asian Americans, and frat members, at a target undergrad. Not sure why all the cultural remarks above are getting monkey shit.

 

This is a Dunning–Kruger thread and most people just don't realize it.

If you are under 40 and haven't worked alongside or personally know a huge fucking cohort of super sharp, alpha Asian/Indian/White/Jewish dudes, you're just exposing yourself as not at the level. Nobody at the Analyst or Associate (or the equivalent) level in a coastal city in any of the major cosmopolitan power professions (finance, medicine, tech, law) believes that any of these demographics are underrepresented relative to broader population.

Literally nobody in NYC/SF/LA/Bos at GS, Blackstone, McKinsey, Skadden, Google, a16z, Harvard Med, GSB, or any of the other yuppie feeder programs looks around at their first day orientation and says "wow where are all the Asian guys?" If anything they often ask the opposite.

I worked at a traditionally super white shoe firm for my Analyst stint and still it was just absolutely packed with Asian dudes.

You're just not in fucking the room OP.

“Millionaires don't use astrology, billionaires do”
 

Thank you. I like how people here automatically assume that everyone lives in the US.

“Destiny is a gift. Some go their entire lives, living existences of quiet desperation, never learning the truth that what feels as though a burden pushing down upon their shoulders is really a sense of purpose that lifts us to greater heights. Never forget that fear is but the precursor to valor, that to strive and triumph in the face of fear is what it means to be a hero. Don’t think. Become.”
 

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