Name: Yongmei Chen 

Title: Senior Vice President and Team Leader of Community Development Lending Group, Eastern Bank 

Age: 49 

Industry experience: 27 years 

Eastern Bank last month hosted an event called the Asian American Women Leaders of Massachusetts to celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The goal was to celebrate Asian women in the workplace, while also examining challenges the group faces, such as pay equity, leadership opportunities and a lack of support for small business owners. Eastern’s Senior Vice President Yongmei Chen, a team leader of the bank’s community development lending group, is one of the employee leaders that made the women leaders event possible. 

Chen joined Eastern Bank in 2007 as vice president of its business banking division. Previously, she was a member of the regional management team at Los Angeles-based Cathay Bank, a Sino-American bank, for more than six years. Chen was first introduced to banking when she worked as a part-time teller in college, which then turned into a 11-year stint at Cambridge Savings Bank where she held different managerial roles. Banker & Tradesman caught up with Chen to talk more about the Asian American Women Leaders of Massachusetts event. 

Q: What is the Asian American Women Leaders Event? How did you first get involved? 

A: The celebration of Asian American Women Leaders of Massachusetts event is hosted by Eastern Bank’s Asian American Professionals Collective (AAPC), a volunteer-based, employee network group. I have been a founding member and a co-chair of the network since 2012. This is our employee network’s third year hosting an Asian community-focused event to celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month and National Small Business Month. 

The objective is to celebrate the Asian community, particularly the small business community, with success stories and to provide a platform for our community members to learn, support and network with each other. This year, we showcased Asian-American women leaders in business and public service in celebration of Eastern’s 200th anniversary. The bank is focused on advancing women in its advocacy and philanthropy in honor of our very first customer, Rebecca Sutton. 

Q: What types of issues were discussed at the Asian American Women Leaders event and what do you hope participants get out of it? 

A: Asians are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the U.S. and account for almost 7 percent of the overall population. However, Asians, particularly Asian women, are still largely invisible in politics, entertainment and among the Fortune 500 C-suites as well as corporate boards.  

In addressing some of those challenges, our event featured two panels, “Women Leading in Business” and “Women Shaping the Political & Public Future in Massachusetts.” During the “Women Leading in Business Panel,” four successful business women from different fields shared their experiences and obstacles to becoming successful business owners. Their common advice to the attendees: Don’t give up, ask questions, use available resources, hire a strong team, reward your employees when business is good and help them grow with the business. 

The “Women Shaping the Political & Public Future in Massachusetts” panel featured three Asian women politicians who provided advice on mentorship, confidence building and connecting with communities. They also shared their experiences on their journey running for public offices. Our keynote speaker, WGBH General Manager Liz Cheng, spoke passionately about speaking up to change the equation and finding your voice. Other guest speakers included State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and Empiriko Founder and CEO Pam Randhawa. 

Q: How has being an Asian woman helped with your community development lending job? 

A: My interest and involvement with the Asian community have always played an important role in my career. I learned a great deal around the topic of “community development” from serving on the board of directors at the Asian Community Development Corp. As a first-generation immigrant and the current board president of the Asian American Civic Association, I gained knowledge on how we can help immigrants and economically disadvantaged individuals through social service, education and workforce training to give them the tools to achieve long lasting self-sufficiency. 

I feel very fortunate to be working for a financial institution that is mission-driven. Our community development lending group is one of the fastest growing divisions within the bank. From affordable housing projects and economic revitalization projects to solar farm financing, it is very exciting to be directly involved in building healthy and vibrant communities in Massachusetts.  

Q: What advice can you give other Asian women in the workplace? 

A: My number one advice to all young professionals, especially Asian women professionals, is to seek and find the right mentor(s) within your workplace. It can be intimidating at first; however, many people are often surprised at the level of interest and willingness from others to share their experiences and career advice. The other advice I often give is to step out and network. Many Asian women, myself included, tend to put our heads down and just work hard. We expect that we should be noticed automatically through our work and nothing else. This misperception can cause delays in promotions, pay raises and other career opportunities. It’s extremely important for Asian women to build relationships, internally and externally, through networking which can lead to endless opportunities in the workplace and beyond. 

Chen’s Five Favorite Quotes from the Asian American Women Leadership Event: 

1. Find your voice, use it and take control of your own narrative.
2. Step outside your comfort zone and be open to taking risks. 
3. Passion, drive and patience are parts of the secret recipe of success.  
4. Public service and politics can be used as a way to connect with others and build relationships in a community. 
5. There are approximately 11 million Asian women in the U.S. who own more than 630,000 businesses and generate over $105 billion in revenue. However, Asian women make up 0.2 percent of CEO positions among Fortune 500 companies and less than 1 percent of total board seats of S&P companies.