Spotlight on ASPIRE for API Heritage Month

The month of May is API Heritage Month, an occasion to celebrate the culture and contributions of Asian and Pacific Islander (API) descent and a call to action to combat discrimination and anti-Asian racism. We sat down with Danny Lew, the Montreal Employee Resource Group (ERG) lead for ASPIRE (Asian and Pacific Islanders Represent) and Legal Counsel at EA,  to hear about how the group is approaching this month.

Danny is a second generation Canadian, born and raised in Montreal. When his parents immigrated from China and Hong Kong in the 60s and 70s, they made sure that he and his brothers honored their Chinese heritage. From an early age, Danny felt exposed to acts of discrimination, bullying and microaggressions as a result of his ethnic background, which led him to pursue an interest in the field of human rights and the protection of the rights of underrepresented people. 

You could say that from there, it was a small jump for Danny to take on the role as the ASPIRE Site Lead for Montreal. ASPIRE ’s global mandate is to build a unified community for API employees and allies, and to expand representation in games and within leadership. The group counts over 1000+ members throughout EA,  in 37 separate locations.

“ASPIRE  provides us with the framework to get involved locally” and for Danny, this means making sure that members of the API community are promoted to positions of senior management across the tech industry and a meaningful break through the bamboo ceiling.  Danny points out that values that are cherished by the API communities, like non-competitiveness, non-boastfulness and non-confrontation are sometimes in contradiction with our conception of what makes a “good leader”.  This results in unconscious biases that disadvantage members of the  API communities who are perceived as being docile, submissive and unassertive. 

ASPIRE  unweaves prejudice by developing leadership capabilities and investing in the personal and professional development of their members through training opportunities and study programs. The ERG also contributes to EA’s systems and practices that drive equity, and inclusion year round. This includes consulting on representation panels for game and art design that increase diversity of API stories, culture and characters in our games.

More specifically during May API Heritage month, they focus on cultivating belonging across the organization through connection, education and celebrations of API cultures. This year, the theme “Unapologetically ASPIRE” offers a colorful program of activities with advocacy in mind. Think speaker series on leadership, community outreach to India’s COVID-19 crisis, workshops on game representation and its impact on mental health, cultural celebrations for Hawaiian Lei Day, an educational session on language- even a virtual scavenger hunt. This month is all about togetherness, healing and courage.

Throughout the year, other EA ERG’s will show up in support of each other- in 2020/21 that has been particularly true.

“I think this year, more so than any other year, we've seen situations where visible minorities and underrepresented communities have been the target of acts of violence. ASPIRE  has been very much in support of BEAT! (Black EA Team) and vice versa. Both BEAT!/ASPIRE  have been supportive of PRIDE and WUT (Women’s Ultimate Team) because we’ve all encountered situations where we’ve been targeted and victimized, so it’s important for us to stand together.”

Danny sees the difference ERGs can make.

“In years past when the Asian community would speak up, it really was just us. It’s amazing that we now see non-API allies speaking up as well. By lending their voice and speaking for and with us, they've empowered our message, cause, who we are, and the importance of the issues we've faced and continue to face.  It has been very powerful for us in dealing with issues, including the anti-Asian sentiment that exists right now.”

At Motive and at EA, we continue to believe we’re at our best when we listen, learn, and empower each other. We make it a point to celebrate openness and value constructive dialogue that leads to safer and healthier spaces for our people. ASPIRE ’s API Heritage Month program is a perfect example of that- and speaking of, we’re only halfway through so we’re getting back to the fun!

For more information on EA Employee Resource Groups visit: https://www.ea.com/en-ca/commitments/people-and-culture

The Motive team is growing! For a list of opportunities where you can join the team at Motive, see our Career page here: https://www.ea.com/ea-studios/motive/careers