Especially being a sikh. i think, yes, as an obstacle for people if they have a foreign sounding name. to some people, it might be something to say well, we don t want anybody that s not like us, or. whatever reason it is, which it shouldn t be, i think it can be a challenge if you re applying forjobs or filling out forms. the human resources body the cipd says companies need to take a zero tolerance approach to discrimination. it s completely unacceptable that candidates should feel they need to change their name in order to avoid discrimination. organisations need to have transparent and fair processes. however, we do know, in the last couple of years that with high profile events, debates and protests like black lives matter, that race inclusion has firmly been placed as a spotlight within organisations. i ve recently decided to reclaim my real name. so has chinemelum, who s also set up a food blog called wait for it. chicken lemon! i wanted to change the narrative
And they called me up to the front and they re like, what s your name? and i said, chinemelum, and i was really standing there proudly. and the teacher was like, what was that? i said, chinemelum. and she was like, to the whole school, if you don t know how to pronounce that, just call her chicken lemon. and from that day, literally everybody was calling me chicken lemon. i just felt a bit small, like nobody was taking me seriously. like, i needed to keep up with the joke and keep up with people, like, calling me by the wrong namejust so, like, my friends wouldn t leave me, basically. after that, she decided to go by mel. it s all just rooted in a lot of discrimination and prejudice, i guess, and, like, people s opinions towards people of colour in general. i feel like a lot of the time when people pronounce my name correctly first time i feel so happy, but then i feel like that s the bare minimum like, that s my name! so i really feel like people should put more of an eff
Will continue for a fourth week. in recent years a number of celebrities have reclaimed their birth names after years of anglicising them. it s an issue many people from ethnic minority backgrounds are faced with whilst growing up or when looking forjobs. reporter noor nanji has been to meet one lady who s taking back her name. ifelt like i had to fit in like i needed to keep up with the joke and keep up with people, like, calling me by the wrong name. changing your name to fit in? i know a bit about that. our reporter nina nanji. nina nanji. nina nanji, bbc news. that s actually not my name, though. my real name is noor, but at work i chose to go by nina because so many people were getting it wrong and that got me wondering whether other people have done similar things. i m off to meet chinemelum, who s been abbreviating her name for most of her life. so when i was in year three, ijoined a new school
Nina nanji, bbc news. that s actually not my name, though. my real name is noor, but at work i chose to go by nina because so many people were getting it wrong and that got me wondering whether other people have done similar things. i m off to meet chinemelum, who s been abbreviating her name for most of her life. so when i was in year three, ijoined a new school and they called me up to the front and they re like, what s your name? and i said, chinemelum, and i was really standing there proudly. and the teacher was like, what was that? i said, chinemelum. and she was like, to the whole school, if you don t know how to pronounce that, just call her chicken lemon. and from that day, literally everybody was calling me chicken lemon. i just felt a bit small, like nobody was taking me seriously. like, i needed to keep up with the joke and keep up with people, like, calling me by the wrong namejust so, like, my friends wouldn t leave me, basically. after that, she decided to g
Correctly first time i feel so happy, but then i feel like that s the bare minimum like, that s my name! so i really feel like people should put more of an effort into it. she s not the only one. this is celebrity chef tony singh. his real name is rajinder, but he never uses that. i asked him whether using tony had made it easier to get ahead. i ve never thought of it as easier or more difficult, because when you turn up to work, you can t hide who you are, especially being a sikh. i think, yes, it is an obstacle for people if they have a foreign sounding name. to some people, it might be something to say well, we don t want anybody that s not like us, or. whatever reason it is, which it shouldn t be, i think it can be a challenge if you re applying forjobs or filling out forms. the human resources body the cipd says it s completely unacceptable that people should feel the need to change their names to avoid discrimination. it adds that organisations need to have transparent and