Hello I’m Tong

I want to talk about my name and my gender. It’s Tong Zhang or 张彤 and I’m a Chinese cis-woman who has lived in the US since I was a small child.

I am deeply proud to be Tong 彤, a name given to me by my paternal grandfather. It is also a name that has made me a perpetual foreigner in the US. Despite having lived in the US for almost all of my life, I’ve never had any other name, my Chinese name is all that I’ve ever had.

I’ve been called Tony Zheng, Thong Zang, and (my favorite) Pong Vang, but the moniker that I’m most familiar with in my professional life is Mr. Tong Zhang. I can’t be certain if the assumption about my gender comes from my name, my title, or my affiliations but it’s one that’s even more infuriatingly unnecessary when “Dr.” is an available option.

It’s easy to say it’s an honest mistake, but when it has happened throughout my career, especially more when I have reached positions of power, I can no longer chalk it up to a mistake, it’s a pattern. One mired in misogyny and racial bias.

Why does it matter? It matters to be seen, it matters to be correctly identified, and (for me) it matters not just to be grouped into what people think of when they see a Chinese name in education.

I walk a tight rope of my intersectional identities. Of being East Asian, of being an immigrant, and of being a woman. All of these identities matter to me and at certain times I am an advocate for myself and more often I strive hard to be a better ally to others. However, just because I often advocate for the causes of others, doesn’t erase the fact that my identity matters.

Next time you see a “foreign” name come across your desk take a second to check your assumptions, to check your biases, and for gods sake, check your spelling.

For me you can call me Tong, Dr. Tong Zhang, or just TZ. And yes I speak English very well.

What part of your identities matter most to you and tie to how you lead? I’d love to chat and learn more!