 If you're Asian and a designer, I'm sorry it's going to be harder for you. Hear me out. I'm Chris, a Chinese-Vietnamese born in the UK. I've been a product designer for nearly a decade. I found out the hard way earlier in my career to be a great designer you need to advocate for yourself. But self-advocating is hard, and I would argue even harder in Asian cultures. Luckily, I was able to break out the cultural boundaries, but I noticed this. Asian culture, in many ways, is conformist. Don't stand out, follow the crowd, speaking up is disrespectful. For many Asian friends, being your true self and saying what you really think is not normal. But why? We are taught from a very young age that we should play a specific role. No! God, please no! No! No! No! No! The model child, the model student, the model citizen. Our home and professional life are separate from the ones we actually want to live. This reminds me of a Japanese proverb, a person has three faces. The first face you show the world. The second face you show close friends and your family. The third face you never show anyone. It is the truest reflection of who you are. This adds another layer of pressure on the Asian designers out there. Going against everything you were taught as kids. Going against cultural norms, professionally and personally. Considering how hard it is for Asian designers in the workplace, how do we advocate for the value of our craft in the world of tech? Where design is still an afterthought compared to engineering or the business. The stakeholder education is a fundamental pillar of being a leader. How do we speak up for people we design for? How do we push back on our bosses and other colleagues? When going against assumptions and hypotheses is being disrespectful to others. How do we negotiate for the salary we deserve? How do we be bold and innovative when we're used to being told this is the way it would always be? How do we think out the box with creative solutions? How do we find confidence to promote ourselves professionally? Where fitting in is encouraged and doing something not normal, unfamiliar or disrupted is frowned upon. Self-advocation is one of the reasons I am why I am today. Believe in yourself, be your true self and fight for what you believe in. Stay strong and advocate for each other, my Asian brothers and sisters. Tell me the last time you advocated for yourself in the comments. Bye!