Ajabu Africa News

By:

Mahugu Nuthu

Posted:

Dec,05-2015 17:49:35

Among some communities in USA, parents can name their child almost anything. Previously marginalized groups are more likely to give kids unique and seemingly odd names. It is a way to express their unique identities and origins. In the African community the talk about "ghetto" or "hood-ish names” is always a touchy topic. Who decides if a name is odd anyway? Different Kenyan communities have their unique baby naming customs.

Some communities pass names down through family generations, others have formulas to invent new ones. We have communities that create names by observing nature, events or current occurrences. Kenyans love their well-planned names. But why do most Kenyans in USA introduce themselves using their first names even to fellow Africans. Let's go even deeper. Can the African name keep you or your child from getting a job, a contract, a customer, or another money generating opportunity?

I am sure you know people who are in high places just because of their family names. At least that is the general consensus. If a name is perceived to have the ability to open doors, can it also have the ability to close them? May be you have never thought about it that way. And don't tell me it’s illegal. Stealing is illegal too. That doesn't mean it does not happen. Yes, in a perfect world, name-based bias should not be happening. Hiring managers and other gatekeepers are supposed to make decisions without letting unconscious biases interfere. The main words here are "supposed to".

In USA, name-based social stigma is very real and mostly subtle. All this may happen consciously or unconsciously. Multiple studies have shown that people are often unfairly denied opportunities based on their names. Non-ethnic sounding names in a resume have a 50% greater chance of receiving a call-back when compared to those with ethnic-sounding names according to one recent study. Shorter names get bigger paychecks. There are kids who grow up to find their names on no fly lists, no horse ride lists, no hire lists, no apartment lists, no food lists, no oxygen lists, or other black book lists. Some of these lists are only in peoples subconscious minds. Creating derogatory names has been used throughout history to devalue people. Name matters. This is squarely an economic problem.

Imagine a situation where the interviewer assumes you speak a certain foreign language and you don’t. Or where the employer is tempted to question your immigration status. This may prolong the vetting process or it may dampen the enthusiasm about hiring you in the first place. There are cases where a name changes the tenor of the interview or turns the interview into a joke fest, which may work against you. In a high competition market, if your name leads to awkward mispronunciation or misspelling incidents that ends up embarrassing the interviewer, things might not end well. How do you pronounce your name again? There are cases where names can lead to perceived low intelligence depending on how water has been muddied by negative stereotypes. As a Kenyan you may have also have to deal with cultural appropriation and caricature of African people in general.

Africans in USA may face a greater risk of name related bias according our research. Not only can the westerners not pronounce your name, they may not be able to pronounce the name your high school or college. They may not have a lot of respect for your credentials if the college you went to has a "funny" name. Did you just make that up? The risk of this bias is significantly increased by the presence of other forms bias like race, national origin, religion, alma mater, social class or accent. For the Kenyans in USA that combination of the stigmas may create a bigger concern. By the way this has also been associated with unwarranted or heightened performance scrutiny when you are finally hired.

Should parents factor this in when naming their children? There are many schools of thought regarding baby naming. For most parents there is a great desire to preserve the cultural identity that a name represents. At the same time every parent would want the best for his or her child. Who should have thought that naming a brand new human being can be such an auspicious task?

Should you be thinking about what the child will have to go through with that name? Is a baby the golden chance to show your stupid creativity? Is this baby your canvas to express yourself? Is he a tool for your counterculture rebellion?

But you can also argue from the other side. At the end of the day, it is the parents' responsibility to name their child, right? The rest of the world does not get to weigh in on it, period!

There should be a middle ground on this. Given a choice I think one should seriously consider the ramifications of medical, financial, college, or employment records. Should you name your child "@" or "#"? You favorite football team? Poor-child! There are times when the trend is led by rich celebrities: people whose children may never have to look for work! Some European countries have now designed laws on naming because it can get out of hand. In USA there has been cases where courts have had to interfere. There has to be a line somewhere. You should consider teasing and bullying that goes on in school. What name would you give your baby if you knew he or she will run for office one day? What name would you give your baby if you didn't know if he or she will run for office one day?

How do grown-ups try to mitigate name bias? Many first-generation immigrants tend to pick the easiest name to go by especially at work. Just call me Bob! You probably have seen this at work places. A guy goes by the name "Max". The name on his work Id is something else: Elvis Presley. He is tired of people making fun of him. Can you dance for us? Some minorities shorten or abbreviate their names on their resumes. There is a reason some people are dropping some letters in their names on their resumes or candidates using initials instead of full names. Others select a part of their names to use on resumes. John. F. N.

Having a sense of humor is also a mitigation strategy that people employ. Changing a name permanently to improve one's prospects is a not an unusual practice in USA. People change ethnic sounding names to give the market what it wants. The same as a company would do with branding efforts. These strategies have worked for some people. That's the way they get to make a living. Its survival first. There is a reason many people are opting for "culturally ambiguous or gender neutral' names.

Do not tell me this cannot be overcome. In 2008 a "skinny kid with a funny name" became the 44th US president. Knowledge is power. While we hope the environment will change we should be focusing on how we can effectively improve areas that we can control. Feeling hopeless or subscribing to willful blindness on issues that affect you internally is not a good strategy. My main aim here is to help you detect and hopefully deter things that may go against you. You should never not stop pursuing your goals. You must stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach. I have done some research on many such forms of bias and published a book about them.

From a business point of view we are interested in whether your name can prevent you from achieving your goals. I want to be clear here. I believe you should never change your name to please the world. You should never feel inferior because of your name. You should also not assume that all employers are bad. This is not unique to Kenyans in USA by any measure. Most foreigners to any country can attest to name frustration. Misspellings, mispronunciations, embarrassments, calls for unwanted attention, stereotypes and profiling are some of the bumps one might face. It’s all about thriving and prospering in spite of any obstacles.

Building networks is one of the good strategies that I recommend. When a candidate is referred by somebody inside the company, name pronunciation or other concerns are likely to take a backseat. At this point the company will decide to meet you based on reputation and credentials. It's good to learn how to develop and nurture quality relationships. This is a sustainable mitigation strategy to deal with many bias related obstacles.

There is also something we call "Laws of Demand and Supply". Most of bias in USA is driven by demand. If there are 100 candidates and 10 job opening the bias becomes more pronounced. If there are 10 candidates and 100 job vacancies bias becomes less economically consequential. Here is where you will notice the effect of superior or scarce skills in dealing with the name issue. If you are competitive in your field and highly demanded, your name becomes a common nuisance. People with high skills or talents face less name exclusion. If you have a unique service or product, most clients will not care about your name too much because the demand overwhelms the bias. If you make the best secret sauce in the world, your weird name becomes an asset. Capitalism kicks in.

Whenever possible do not let the discussion about your name and its origin derail the interview. What does your name mean in Ashanti? He is an interviewer not a genius. We should not forget that there will be some companies that look for ethnic names because they may offer advantages in terms of labor costs or lack of union affiliation. Your name could be an asset. Employers are also trying to help. Some companies now are testing what they call "blind resumes approach", to try to address this issue. This is a practice where documents are reviewed without an applicant's name or address. There are other ways people can try to mitigate this exclusion and I have a whole chapter on this in my book. Learning how a name can be used to exclude you should be a part of your business and career planning strategy. This allows you to accentuate that self-acceptance with self-improvement and logic. You must prevail in spite of bias related obstacles.

You also have immense power to help improve the world peace in this area. We can all start by respecting other people's names. Do not assume that a name you've never heard of is obviously made up. Children do not choose their names. You should never make fun of anybody's name: that is what they got when they were born. It's not funny. No one should feel superior due to his or her name. Your name is cute but it's not an achievement. If somebody doesn't like a name or nickname, do not use it. Let us also be fair here. Accidents happen or your tongue refuses to cooperate. You must have butchered your share of names too in your lifetime.I know I have done it many times. Has anybody seenMiss. Watermelondrea and Supervisor Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff today?

Mahugu Nuthu, Nuthology Analytics, Kansas City, USA

Source:

AJABU AFRICA NEWS