Melting Pot or Salad Bowl?

The Tokyo Olympics has started amidst a lot of chaos. Are you watching any of the games?

So many people from all different races compete in the Olympics, and it reminded me of how vast our world is and how there are so many countries! It reminded me of these phrases: melting pot, and salad bowl. These are terms I often heard when I lived in the US where many different peoples cohabitate.

I’ll share how each of these terms is defined:

“Melting pot refers to people from various ethnic and racial backgrounds coming together in one place and creating a new culture or society. 

In the 50’s-60’s when civil rights movements for minorities came to the forefront, the term “melting pot” started to take on the meaning of people assimilating to one single culture.

This is how the concept of the “salad bowl” came about. Specifically, here are the differences between a melting pot and a salad bowl:

A melting pot is where a single homogenous culture becomes created out of various races coming together. 

On the other hand, a salad bowl refers to each vegetable retaining its own shape, taste and identity within the salad, while co-existing in a bowl called America. The people retain their own cultural roots and continue existing together in one place.”

When I was in the US as a student, the US was trying to be a melting pot, but I felt that really, it wasn’t. I felt this because I saw the energy of people trying to do their best to survive from wherever they immigrated from in this new country. It’s not that this was good or bad, but I just felt that it really isn’t an accurate description.

So when I heard about the “salad bowl” concept, that made much more sense to me, and I still remember that very clearly.

Co-existing without losing our individuality.

When I went to the US at age 15, I was trying to be as American as possible, trying to blend in.

But then I quickly realized that others wanted me to be Japanese and were curious about my culture. This made me relax into myself and also showed me that I can’t forget about where I’m from.

Sometimes people ask me what the biggest challenges are about working with people from various cultures and backgrounds.

I don’t believe there’s any difference just because someone’s from a different country or background.

What I do find challenging and also important is to really understand each person’s personal background, whatever it is, and respect each other while trying to attain some kind of common goal.

I also don’t necessarily believe that we need to force ourselves into being in a melting pot nor a salad bowl. As a project manager, I think my role is to add some dressing to the salad to balance out and complete the salad as a dish.

In terms of multicultural countries, Singapore was another one - but with a very different quality compared to the US. I’ll share more about this in the future.

There are so many interactions we can have online with people from all over the world. What I believe is helpful to question ourselves from now on is what we feel is truly important within our interactions, and remaining flexible and balanced in our approach. I think this is how the salad becomes a delicious and flavorful meal!

Japan is in the heat of the summer - I hope you take care of your health and wishing you an amazing day full of smiles!