In her recent TEDX Talk Asian Australian life and business coach Trang Nova called out the industry in which she works for their lack of racial diversity, and not being inclusive of Asian representation. This is quite interesting considering when the topics of representation and visibility are discussed, the world of life and business coaching are not included. It is probably an industry which does not come to mind - well all that has changed.
In a recent interview with Trang, she discussed that one of the reasons why this industry is out of sight and mind for Asians is because it is a relatively new industry and one which isn't really present in Asia.
"The coaching industry is relatively new, and it isn't something which is super present in Asian countries. And I think that is an interesting point because a lot of concepts from the life and personal industry are concepts which derive from the East. If you think about it, mindfulness etc are philosophies coming from Confucius and Buddha - so why are Asian faces not commonly seen in this industry is a common question I ask".
According to Google's list of Top 25 Personal Development Coaches in 2023, there were only three Black or brown male coaches to make the list. No Black or brown women, and not one Eastern Asian man or woman - very disappointing to be honest. But is it just that this industry hasn't adapted to being more culturally diverse? Is it that Asians everywhere do not see this industry as a viable career path? Or are there no spaces and opportunities provided to Asians to capitalise this industry?
According to Trang, it is a bit of both, and to truly understand the issues, one must look at this situation from different angles.
"I would say it is a bit of both. I don't think there is only one problem and one angle to this. In its current form, as I said earlier - this industry is relatively new. It has been embraced more in Western cultures, where you can say there is a bit more luxury and economical demand for these services", Trang discussed.
"At the same time, in Asia and in Asian cultures there may be some bias towards this industry and it is not necessarily something Asian parents would encourage their children to pursue as a career. At the same time, there is still a huge white bias in this world- and we see it in this industry where people will unconsciously pay to watch a white person speak as opposed to an Asian face. We really have to change this".
Finally, what needs to change? What needs to be done to see cultural change in this industry, leading to more Asians working in the life, personal and business coaching sector and taking up spaces on the main stage.
Trang says she used to feel the answer was to have special allocations/quotas for people of colour in the industry, but now she realised that this is not the solution.
"Ultimately, discrimination comes from a fear of differences- you know we misunderstand or feel ignorant towards people who are different to us, therefore we discriminate against them and that is where the idea of feeling more superior comes from. So really, I think to see change- for those of us who are doing well in the industry need to be more conscious and ensure we give spaces and opportunities to people of colour, and to have their voices interviewed in the media, podcasts and on the main stage", Trang stated passionately.
"To be conscious, is so important, and no matter what cultural background we come from, we need to continually speak out and push to change the cultural diversity in this industry".
With the rapid growth of this industry and people embracing life, personal and business coaching, within the next ten years it will become dominant and with that will also need to cater to the changing faces of its audience.
Images provided.
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