Filipinx Graduate Student Stares Down Stereotypes

By Suzanne Finch

While we celebrate October as Filipinx American History Month, San Diego State University graduate student Honey Lynn Samuelson Villalobos’ Filipino heritage provides her with insight into the challenges faced by Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) people in the accounting industry and notes how evolution is slowly taking place.

Honey Villalobos will earn her MSA from SDSU in December

After earning her bachelor’s degree from Charles W. Lamden School of Accountancy at SDSU’s Fowler College of Business in 2005, Honey Lynn Samuelson Villalobos immediately started work at a local San Diego accounting firm. However, it was far from a perfect work environment. “The firm had only two women supervisors, no women in management and only white male partners. And of all those people, only one was a person of color,” said Villalobos, whose mother is Filipino and whose father is Finnish/Swedish. “Whenever I asked any person in a leadership role for guidance, I was frequently answered with a backhanded comment related to me being a woman. I left that firm after a year-and-a-half because I wanted to grow in my accounting career, and it was clear to me that this would not happen in that firm’s environment.” 

As she searched for a new position, Villalobos came to understand that the prejudice was not just confined to her previous company. “Filipinx and other APIDA people have frequently been seen as immigrants or foreigners no matter how long we’ve lived in this country or even if we were born here,” she said. “Friends who have referred me for professional positions have been asked about my language skills once the hiring management found out that I was half Asian.”  

Back to School
In 2016, Villalobos began working at her current position as an accountant for a local leadership training and development company. When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down many of the nation’s workplaces in 2020, she found herself partially furloughed and she made a decision that changed her life:  she re-enrolled at SDSU to earn her Master of Science in Accountancy degree. “Instead of looking for a new job or a side gig to supplement my lost wages, I decided to take that extra time to invest in myself by earning my master’s degree,” said Villalobos. “Before that, I wasn’t sure I had the opportunity to work and commute to school, but since a lot of my classes were online, I didn’t have to make the drive.”

But things had changed in both the accounting industry and in the Charles W. Lamden School of Accountancy since she earned her bachelor’s degree. “In the 17 years since my time as an undergraduate and a new accounting associate, I’ve seen an increase in diversity in the accounting industry and with an increase in APIDA people in all areas of leadership,” said Villalobos who plans to earn her MSA in December 2022. “When I earned my bachelor’s degree, there were no minority women teaching my accounting courses at SDSU and now there are several. Since I’ve returned for my master’s degree, I have been inspired by two wonderful Asian women professors and graduate advisors (Yan Luo and Janie Chang). They are successful women who teach great courses, have their Ph.D.s and have families. I didn’t realize how much I needed to see them as examples, but I hope to serve as an inspiration to other women of color in helping them attain their goals that they may not see possible.” 

Having had first-hand knowledge of the challenges facing APIDA professionals in the accounting industry, Villalobos (who recently earned a prestigious PCAOB scholarship) worked with Luo to create a case study examining these issues for students in Luo’s intermediate accounting classes (ACCTG 331). The case required students to identify existing and potential barriers that inhibit diversity, equity and inclusiveness (DEI) in the accounting industry. Students were then tasked with performing data visualization of the DEI data and propose solutions to those barriers based on their research. “Lynn collected the data from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Bureau of Labor Statistics regarding the age, gender and ethnicity of certified public accountants in the U.S., and then helped to develop the case solution using analytics software,” said Luo. “Her first-hand experience with some of these barriers made Lynn’s contribution to the case study even more valuable since she was able to help visualize real-world solutions.” 

Progress is at Hand
Though Villalobos has seen the progress that APIDA people have made in recent years, she still sees and hears painful reminders of prejudice. “I get comments about how well I speak English,” she said. When I’m questioned about my heritage, it makes me feel like I don’t belong.”

However, Villalobos noted that while there has been — and still are — some awkward and even painful situations for her as an APIDA woman, she is still hopeful for change. 

“Can we overcome this ‘foreigner’ stereotype? I absolutely think it’s possible, but as we have seen, it will take time,” she said. “For example, the first accounting firm I worked for looks so different now with underserved minorities and women in prominent roles. It’s wonderful to see change, but we need to see it from our leaders in government as well, leading by example from the top down.”