Outstanding: Chin-Chung Chao Wins Multiple NCA Awards

Authority. Guidance. Leadership.

Chin-Chung (Joy) Chao, Ph.D., examines how these traits apply, specifically to Asian women in leadership across both Asian and western countries in Asian Women Leadership: A Cross-National and Cross-Sector Comparison, published by Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

Her book explores the basics and complexities of Asian female leadership from both a comparative and global perspective, touching on a myriad of issues and levels.

Chao’s book was awarded the 2021 Outstanding Book Award by the National Communication Association’s International and Intercultural Communication Division, as well as the Outstanding Book Award by the Asian/Pacific American Caucus and Studies Division at NCA in recognition of the significance of its scholarship.

“While Asia has made enormous economic progress in the past few decades . . . the role of Asian women’s leadership in their countries and abroad has not earned sufficient attention. There is an immediate need to examine cultural differences with a gender perspective . . . Asia is significantly different from western countries where the mainstream of research studies on women in leadership have been conducted,” says Chao.

Writing this book was particularly important to Chao. “The book had special meaning to me because of its topic and its connection to the University, so it was rewarding to see the NCA recognize the effort . . . there is a stereotype that women cannot be leaders, and we have shown a lot of examples – though there are constraints and difficulties – that they can be leaders. We used those examples for people to consider as possibilities for women in general and Asian women in particular to aspire to leadership roles.”

Along with her other awards at the 2021 NCA Convention, Chao also was recognized with the Top Paper Award by the Association for Chinese Communication Studies for her paper The Transformation of National Identity in Hong Kong within the Transnational Space of China and the United States. The paper examines the media coverage on the Chief Executive of Hong Kong (Carrie Lam)’s leadership and tries to understand how it has impacted the spaces between China and the United States.

Chao has published two books, 21 refereed journal articles, and 10 book chapters; two more refereed journal articles and four more book chapters are in the publication process. She has also presented 59 conference papers and panel presentations at major national and regional conferences, such as the National Communication Association (NCA) and International Communication Association (ICA).