PHILADELPHIA – In celebration of Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month, Stradley Ronon’s Diversity Committee and APA Engagement Group partnered with Macquarie Group’s Americas multicultural employee network group (ENG) Unity to present a CLE program on May 25, “Asian Pop: Understanding Influences and Overcoming Biases in the Legal Profession.” This event featured a conversation with author, screenwriter and cultural critic Jeff Yang and Emmy award-winning television journalist Nydia Han.
The fireside chat, which was hosted in person and live-streamed at the firm’s Philadelphia office, was designed to share varied career and personal experiences of Asian Americans, the history of bias facing this community, and discuss how pop culture reflects and informs how Asian Americans have been perceived, embraced or discriminated against throughout American history with a focus on the last three decades. More than 200 people attended the special program, both in-person and virtually.
Stradley Ronon Partner Deborah Hong and Associate Michael Tang, and Macquarie Asset Management Managing Director and Co-Chair of Macquarie’s Unity ENG Mimi Wang served as organizers and hosts of the event with the goal to help build awareness and advance the inclusion of the Asian American community in the workplace and legal profession.
“As part of the firm’s month-long APA observance, we were thrilled to join our efforts with Macquarie Group to create a meaningful experience for firm members, clients and partners using the evolution of Asian American pop culture as our event theme,” said Hong. “Building a more inclusive environment starts with creating cultural connections, engaging active allies and raising the visibility of issues impacting Asian Americans – and our guests Jeff Yang and Nydia Han– thoughtfully provided a dialogue to celebrate the APA community and empower attendees.”
Yang spoke about his latest New York Times bestselling book, “RISE: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now,” and shared how Asian American culture has evolved and ‘risen’ through the lens of pop culture. Han, a longtime anchor at 6abc, discussed how she uses her platform to uplift, empower and give voice to traditionally underrepresented marginalized groups and shared her unique perspective as a journalist with more than 20 years of experience.
“As part of Macquarie’s Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month programming, we were honored to partner with Stradley Ronon to co-host this intimate and entertaining event that explored how pop culture has impacted the experiences of the diverse Asian American community,” said Wang. “Their discussion impacted me personally and made me even prouder to be Asian American. Yang and Han’s vivid discussion of Asian American representation helped provide invaluable insight on how we all can be better allies and create a more inclusive environment both at work and within our communities to build better futures where everyone of all backgrounds can thrive.”
Stradley Ronon is committed to diversity for many reasons: because it provides a voice to the unique perspectives of all our attorneys; because it reflects the evolving face of the legal profession; and because it allows us to provide the highest-quality services to our clients, who are as diverse as we are. Stradley Ronon is especially proud that last year it achieved Mansfield Certification from Diversity Lab, one of only 117 firms nationwide to do so. Certification means that Stradley Ronon has ensured that at least 30% of candidates considered for leadership positions, new hire and lateral openings, equity partnership promotions and client pitch opportunities are women, people of color, queer people or people with disabilities. Achieving this certification has significantly impacted the firm and has generated measurable results, such as increased diverse representation in firm leadership and lateral hiring. The firm will continue to expand opportunities for all members of the firm in an equitable and purposeful manner throughout 2022 and into the future.
Macquarie is committed to ensuring that its policies, practices and initiatives support the firm in building a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment where all its people are able to reach their full potential. One initiative is its multi-year Racial Equity Fund, in which Macquarie has committed $5 million to support community groups working to promote racial equity in the US. Additionally, with over 135+ cultural identities represented across the globe at Macquarie, Unity, its multicultural employee network group in the Americas helps to foster an inclusive and collaborative workplace where it celebrates its diversity and empowers its staff to innovate and invest for a better future through its work on inclusion, community, business opportunities and career support.
About Stradley Ronon
Counseling clients since 1926, Stradley Ronon has helped private and public companies – from small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations – achieve their goals by providing pragmatic, value-driven legal counsel. With offices in seven strategic locations, our responsive team of more than 200 attorneys seamlessly addresses the full spectrum of our clients’ needs, ranging from sophisticated corporate transactions to complex commercial litigation.
About Macquarie Group
Macquarie Group Limited (Macquarie) is a global financial services group providing clients with asset management, retail and business banking, wealth management, leasing and asset financing, market access, commodity trading, renewables development, specialist advice, access to capital and principal investment. Founded in 1969, Macquarie employs over 18,000 people in 33 markets. At 31 March 2022, Macquarie had assets under management of $US580.2 billion. For further information, visit www.macquarie.com