The Economic Status of Asian American and Pacific Islander Women

The Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community is a vibrant, diverse, and growing segment of the U.S. population. Yet despite the rich cultural diversity within this group, which together speaks more than 100 languages, practices a wide variety of religions, and represents more than 50 ethnic groups, economic narratives often fall short of capturing the income and employment disparities that exist within it, particularly among AAPI women. It is past time to remedy that oversight, which has roots in racial, ethnic, and gender biases.

In 2019, there were an estimated 12.7 million AAPI women, nearly 11.9 million Asian women and almost 803,000 NHOPI women, living in the United States. Together, these women represent almost 3.9 percent of the U.S. population. Asians are the fastest-growing racial group in the country, projected to represent 14 percent of the U.S. population by 2065. Notably, while Asian women are heavily concentrated in the country’s most populous states, namely California, New York, and Texas, NHOPI women are heavily concentrated in the Western states of California, Hawaii, and Washington. There is rapid population growth for both groups all across the country, particularly in Western and Midwestern states. Employment and economic status among members of the AAPI community are also far from uniform: While some AAPI subpopulations are heavily concentrated in higher-wage professional and management occupations, others are heavily concentrated in lower-wage service occupations.

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