British | Persian (Iranian) - BHF Legacy Development Executive
My Mother is from England, she was born in Germany but raised in the West Midlands. My Father is from Tehran, Iran. He met my Mother in college whilst studying. She said he was so charismatic and charming with so many friends, she never thought he'd be interested in her. That was in 1978. In 1979 the Iranian revolution happened, and my Grandfather told my Father to stay in England for the time-being. That was it, they fell in love, had children and my Dad never returned to live there.
I'm so proud of my Persian heritage, and I'm also so appreciative of my English side too. I struggle with some of the English side because I don't have any interaction with anyone apart from my Mother. My Dad would sometimes say to me I should avoid interracial relationships as they make life harder than it needs to be for the couple and the children. I don't agree with that sentiment, but I understand where he is coming from.
In the 70's and 80's, when they first came to the UK people would spit at them and my siblings in the street. Life was hard for him when he came back then, and he doesn't want us to suffer like that. I don't think things are as bad as that anymore, however; I'm constantly aware of the friction that cultures can have against one another, especially around certain things that people hold dear to them. I think, ultimately, it comes down to your values and beliefs, and if you share those then you will be OK.
I think that my workplace is conscious of being as inclusive as possible and are often discussing these topics. Whether I feel it's considerate of my specific backgrounds, I would say no, but I'm involving myself in lots of our initiatives company-wide and hoping I can contribute toward building safe places for discussion and to raise awareness. I think many of the changes I would recommend are already being implemented, things like unconscious bias training, blind CVs, affinity groups, and plenty of other initiatives. One thing I do think needs to be improved is the diversity at the Executive level so that there's better representation from the senior levels.
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