I am a Vietnamese-Chinese, French-American immigrant woman and the founder and CEO of Mogul, the world’s leading diversity recruitment company; the Managing Partner of the Mogul Global Fund, an investment fund with a global diversity mandate; the bestselling author of YOU ARE A MOGUL and GIRL MOGUL; and TV Personality and Artist. Above all, I am a human being and I am an active ally.

These past few weeks, we have all been shocked and confused by the attacks on the Asian American and Pacific Islander community — from the assaults on our elderly in NYC streets to the murders of the six Asian women in Atlanta.

Our nation is talking about this now, but these racist aggressions and hate crimes have been occurring long before the pandemic. And frankly, it’s been happening all of our lives.

Even before this moment, throughout our lives, we had been subject to a general acceptance of anti-Asian racism — second-class citizens in our own country. Dating back to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the US, anti-Asian racism has continued to plague our beloved nation to this day.

And yet, we’ve been quiet about this, generally diminishing ourselves and our status in the presence of others in order to not to cause a disruption.

Throughout my life, I have watched my Asian family, my loved ones, and myself go out of our way to not cause a disruption. I have tried to stay out of the way of discriminatory behavior, not by calling out the person for making the joke but by avoiding being the butt of the joke altogether.

By changing myself. By making myself smaller.

Starting from middle school, when I first moved to America — I changed my name from an Asian name to an American one so that I wouldn’t cause a disruption in class when the teacher did a roll call. I couldn’t bear to hear the other students smirking or snickering at my name.

I know this scenario — and others like it — sounds familiar. Death by a thousand paper cuts, it has been destructive to us all. And we cannot accept the increasingly dangerous and intensifying consequences of these actions any longer.

Upon the death of my grandmother when I was 14, and upon the desire to honor my parents for all the sacrifices they had made for me in moving us to America, I finally decided that I wouldn’t take this any longer.

I would belong. And I would help others belong.

I subsequently founded Mogul, and today, it is the world’s largest platform for diverse professionals, providing recruitment access to over 430MM diverse individuals who would otherwise be overlooked — including Asians, Asian-Americans, and Pacific Islanders.

We place diverse leaders across all levels, from Entry-level to Director, VP, C-Suite, and Board Level across 480 Fortune 1000 and the world’s fastest-growing organizations, so as to ensure equal representation and voice for our community across ranks.

And with all of the millions of dollars earned, we donate millions of dollars worth of free educational supplies and resources to minorities in need globally, ensuring that the next generation of diverse talent receives equal access to opportunity, becoming a part of our ecosystem, and continuing this circular model for global good in this way.

And so, during this horrific moment of historically high anti-Asian violence, my team at Mogul and I commit to fighting against this anti-Asian racism — by helping Asian students, Asian talent, Asian leaders, diversifying workforces, overcoming unconscious biases, and ensuring equality worldwide.

We denounce these unprovoked attacks and hate crimes against our fellow humans. No one in the United States nor our world should fear violence because of who they are, what they look like, or what part of the world they and their families came from.

Together, we must stop this.

We must be responsible for our words, actions, and most importantly, we must all continue to hold each other accountable. Now is the time for us all — Asians and allies — to unite against racism of all forms. To be silent is to condone this violence.

And so, our team at Mogul and I commit to continue using our resources and voices to lift your voice, so we can all speak up to help stop Asian hate.

In support of the AAPI community, please consider donating to the following:

Victim memorial funds