I am a Canadian woman who is a visible minority and so proud to be part of this multi-cultural country that I call home.
I was born with an ‘ethnic’ name (Singh) and married and changed my name to another ‘ethnic’ name early in my career (Chandarpaul). When I changed my name, quite a few people (friends and family) told me not to use my new married name as it was ‘too ethnic, too long and too difficult.’ But I would not hear of it.
They told me that I would have too many barriers against me and would never succeed in the business world nor would I be considered for some jobs or given the same opportunities if I did this. This baffled me. I thought maybe I was naive.
I look back now, almost 10 years after my HR career began, and I laugh at those people. I have had the opportunity to work in my different companies, under varying lengths on contract and this meant I was quite often looking for a job at least once or twice a year. My name has never kept me back, it has never hindered me and it has never impeded my ability to get ahead, I am successful because of my credentials, what I give back to my community and the experiences I embark on and learn from.
Those cynics are the people who try and find excuses for not finding a job. If you don’t have the appropriate skills or don’t apply for jobs that fit your skill set it would be difficult to get that job regardless of what your name is.
So to all the people out there with a difficult, long, ethnic or unique name that gives them character and depth – keep moving on up!
Photo credit Deirdre Honner
About the author: Nita Chandarpaul works full time as a Human Resources Generalist with FNF Canada (a division of Fidelity National Financial). Nita enjoys balancing life as a wife and mother of a two and a half year old! Life is busy and fun and ever changing in the world of HR.
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5 Comments
Hi Nita,
Great blog, and congratulations to you on your successful career!
While I applaud your insistence to forge ahead with your married name, I know that my hard-to-pronounce, “ethnic” name has on occasion been a hindrance. I have, in the past, had phone or in-person interviews where the interviewer was quite clearly surprised to hear fluency when I spoke.
I’m definitely not cynical when I say this, but bias still exists. Even as an HR professional, I have seen it and have at times wondered if that was one of my hurdles to overcome. And yes, during my job search it HAS crossed my mind that perhaps my “ethnicity” was a reason for lack of a call-back. Just as Bonni said, “if you can’t pronounce it, you move on.”
Let’s hope hiring bias will soon be a thing of the past….
Thanks again for calling attention to this!
~Arezoo
Hello Nita, Thanks for the post. Great to have you on Women of HR!
When I think of Unique names, Barack Obama comes to mind. Despite his “ethnic” name, he has risen to become the 44th president of the US.
A name is just a name and should not act as a determinant of one’s ability or be used as a barrier to success or achievement.
Shakespeare hit the nail on the head with this quote : ” What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.
Hi Nita,
I was so pleased to see that your guest post on womenofhr.com. You were one of my Humber students in HR 11 years ago!!! You are a great inspiration to the the value of multiculturalism in Canada. Your post is awesome.
I can relate to your story. I married my teenage sweetheart and at a time when women normally did adopt a married name. As much as I love my husband, his family, and the link back to Germany, I have wondered sometimes if their surname is a barrier for me. After all, if you can’t pronounce it, you move on. I do remember those easy days of a 4 letter last name that almost no one messed up.
Anyway, congratulations, and I’ll be looking for a post from you on The EO List now!
Thanks Leonie and your absolutely right. I meant no disrespect to those facing serious racism issues. An article was released last week by CTV (below)
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111015/bc_sfu_study_111015/20111015/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome&utm_source=Exacttarget&utm_medium=Communications&utm_term=HRDaily&utm_content=Email&utm_campaign=hrdaily101711
and counters what I have encountered. It talks about a study of how Canadian employers discriminate against ethnic names.
I think it’s great that women, like Ms Chandarpaul have been successful in landing good work and building a career. By her very presence she is changing the face of HR. What I take issue with is her position that it was cynicism that explained the position of those who told her there might be barriers.
I too am a woman Canadian woman of colour, who is proud of many cultures that call this country home, but let’s not get it twisted. In any province you will find a back log of human rights complaints, many linked to discrimination faced while attaining or during employment. These are not people who are making excuses. These are people dealing with racism.
As HR professionals, if we are not actively trying to stamp out discriminatory practices, like the covert racist practice of skipping over any one named “Singh” “Chiu” or “Lakisha”, you are quite frankly part of the problem.
Let’s all celebrate Ms Chandarpaul’s success, but also make sure that we have done all that we can to stamp out bias in the hiring practice, that is not the stuff of imagination, but of frustration for the many qualified applicants who’s efforts are thwarted because of bias.
Leonie