EA - Non-Western EAs' perception of cross cultural interactions they had with Western EAs by Yi-Yang

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Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Non-Western EAs' perception of cross cultural interactions they had with Western EAs, published by Yi-Yang on July 24, 2024 on The Effective Altruism Forum.
Summary
I investigated non-Western EAs' perception of cross cultural interactions (CCIs) they had with Westerners, specifically:
1. Whether or not non-Westerners experienced CCI issues, and how often;
2. How their CCIs compare between EA and non-EA settings;
3. What kinds of subtle acts of exclusion (SAEs) they had experienced.
I interviewed 21 non-Western EAs (selected from an EA conference's Swapcard and a few from my own personal network) and discovered:
An overwhelming number of interviewees (19 out of 21) thought their cross-cultural interactions in EA settings were almost all neutral or positive.
However, among the same 19 interviewees who found their CCIs to be mostly neutral or positive, they've also reported the following:
43% (9 out of 19) reported at least one general negative CCI
48% (10 out of 19) reported at least one SAE caused by Western EAs
19% (4 out of 19) reported at least one SAE caused by other non-Western EAs (or themselves)
81% (17 out of 19) reported:
At least one general negative CCI, or
At least one SAE caused by Western EAs, or
At least one SAE caused by other non-Western EAs (or themselves), or
A mix or all of the above.
When asked to compared CCIs between EA settings and non-EA settings,
7 out of 14 thought CCIs in EA settings are about the same when compared to non-EA settings.
5 out of 14 thought CCIs in EA settings are better for them.
2 out of 14 thought CCIs in EA Settings are worse for them.
Here are the most reported experiences:
General negative CCIs
Non-Western EAs found the act of connecting with Western EAs challenging. (4x)
Non-Western EAs felt suspicious about the lack of representation. (3x)
Non-Western EAs found the English language barrier challenging to overcome. (3x)
SAEs caused by Western EAs
Western EAs treating non-Western EAs in a way that's demeaning. (4x)
Western EAs were coming across as paternalistic towards non-Western EAs. (2x)
SAEs caused by non-Western EAs
Non-Western EAs changing their accent or communication style to be more Western. (2x)
For a better understanding of Western and non-Western CCIs, I highly recommend reading the highlighted negative vignettes and highlighted positive vignettes.
Methodology
I thought a more hands-on qualitative approach, like doing interviews, would be a better choice compared to a survey, because it offered me:
1. More flexibility to pivot the type of questions I ask or the things I want to say;
2. More information about a person's emotional state;
3. A way to potentially express empathy to those who might need it.
I've also received feedback that interviewing people seems like the next best option too.
Hence, I decided to interview people online who would identify themselves as EA or EA adjacent, and are predominantly non-Western. In these interviews, I asked:
1. How much cross cultural interactions in EA have you had?
2. How are the cross cultural interactions in EA settings that you've experienced?
3. Have you encountered any kinds of subtle acts of exclusion from others in EA settings?
4. Have you encountered acts of exclusion that are done by oppressed groups or minorities onto themselves in EA settings?
5. How do your cross-cultural experiences compare between EA and non-EA settings?
6. Are there other experiences you'd like to share? Or questions you'd like me to ask but I didn't?
I did two things with the qualitative data I got from the interviews:
1. I collected their experiences, paraphrased them, and compiled them under the appendix below. For those I found to be resonant in some hard-to-describe way, I included them in the "highlighted negative/positive vignettes" sections.
2. I did some basic qualitative re...