Banks, race, gender

Letter to the Globe & Mail (November 8, 2012) Re Women Challenge Central Banking Men’s Club (Nov. 7): The board of the Bank of Canada is not much different than the euro zone experience. Only two of the 15 board members are women. The board fares even worse on reflecting Canada’s mosaic – it has no visible minorities, even though they account for 20 per cent of Canada’s population. The club is even more white than it is male. Nevertheless, such positions should be filled by merit only, but in a country with such a large visible minority population, are there none qualified for the role? The board counts four directors (of 12 appointed positions) from the Atlantic provinces, even though that region accounts for only about 7 per cent of Canada’s population. Kai L. Chan, Dubai Letter as it appeared in the G&M © Copyright 2012 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

Asian immigrant experience defies easy comparisons

Letter to the Wall Street Journal (November 2, 2012) Although Asian-Americans as a whole have achieved a lot of success (as measured by household income and education), they still lag on many indicators, most notably social inclusion, where they still seem relegated to the lower echelons of social hierarchy. Several years ago when I was working at an investment bank in New York City, I went to an Upper West Side house party of a fellow Princeton alumnus.  I was dressed in a tailored shirt with designer cuff links and wore Italian leather shoes.  I approached the security desk in the lobby with a bottle of wine in a bag and asked for the room number of my friend.  The guard asked if I was making a Chinese food delivery. Kai L. Chan Dubai, United Arab Emirates Letter as it appeared in the WSJ Copyright ©2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.  All Rights Reserved

The Natioanl: UAE nationals urged to get overseas research experience

UAE nationals urged to get overseas research experience Colin Simpson June 18, 2012 [caption id="attachment_3164" align="aligncenter" width="462"] The Firmenich laboratory which makes perfumes for big branded company’s in Dubiotech, Dubai Biotechnology and Science Park In Al Barsha.[/caption] DUBAI // Young Emiratis who want careers in research and development should go overseas to gain experience before returning to help the UAE become a centre for innovation, according to an expert. "There's a life cycle of talent," said Dr Kai Chan, senior adviser to the Emirates Competitiveness Council, a federal government body. "I'd encourage young Emiratis to go abroad to learn and then come back with their knowledge. "We want to ensure that young Emiratis are going into the workforce equipped, we want to encourage this as we want to be a knowledge-based economy. We do want to become a hub for R&D, we do want to be among the world's leaders." However, Dr Khaled Amiri, head of the biology department at UAE University, said he did not favour the term hub, as this implied that expatriate researchers would move to the country and then leave after two or three years without passing on their knowledge. "The nationals are going to complement…

The National: Emiratis ‘should be at ease in their jobs’

Emiratis 'should be at ease in their jobs' Colin Simpson June 12, 2012 DUBAI // Multinational companies must create a more comfortable working atmosphere for Emiratis, a conference has heard. Internships and opportunities for government employees to sample life in such companies for a few months were other ways to lure Emirati science graduates into the private sector, speakers yesterday told the Life Sciences Foresight event organised by DuBiotech. Longer-term expatriates were also needed to ensure true knowledge transfer and "the Emiratisation of knowledge", the conference heard. "From a UAE perspective, with local talent we have some issues," said Dr Ashraf Allam, regional managing director for the Middle East and Africa of the biotechnology giant Amgen. "We don't have access to the local talent here. We have a perception, and I tend to believe it's a reality, that local talent tend to trade job security and work-life balance with growth and career enhancement. "If you work for the Government it's more comfortable, you can sail along. The corporate world is usually intense. You need to work hard, there's a lot of risk involved, it's a very competitive environment. "Someone has to research why these people are not coming to the…

A racial slur against the Chinese

Letter to the Financial Times (May 19, 2012) Mr Kai L. Chan. Sir, I was shocked to have seen the word “Chinaman” used in print. Are your editors ignorant of the fact that the word is a racial slur? One does not call a person from London an “Englandman” and neither is a Parisian a “Franceman”. The proper term is “Chinese man”. The word is offensive because it is rooted in the belief that Chinese people speak “chop suey” English. I would expect that you print an apology or at least a recognition of the controversy of this word. To Chinese ears the term “Chinaman” is just as offensive as the n-word is to a black person. Kai L. Chan, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Letter as it appeared in the FT Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011