Egyptian | Filipino - Senior Executive Assistant @ The Alan Turing Institute
My Mum is from the Philippines and my Dad is from Egypt, they met at work. I belong to two very rich cultures and have the benefit of enjoying both of them. Being of mixed heritage has opened my eyes to the advantages of a multicultural society. I feel fortunate to live in London as it is considered one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world.
When I was in my 20s, I started to notice that I wasn’t being accepted as Egyptian by friends who were from the same or similar background. I figured it was because I never really adopted the culture and my liberal upbringing. Rather than feeling undermined by this experience, I gained a greater sense of independence. In college, I noticed students were grouping themselves according to their race/culture. I struggled with this because I couldn’t identify with one group or another. I started to be more selective about people I surrounded myself with and enjoyed having a diverse group of friends.
To the next generation, I would say one of the benefits of dual heritage is having access to multiple cultures that non mixed-race people have. People are more open to you when there is some commonality.
I’ve never really been called anything I’ve found offensive. I’ve been called exotic but I see that as a compliment! I do feel under represented in the ethnic monitoring part of application forms (having to tick ‘mixed other’), however I appreciate not every mixed background can be listed!
I didn’t have a view about being mixed-race when I was younger but now I am a Mother of a 2 year old whose Father is from Jamaica, I am more conscious of the significance of race and culture and I think it is important that my son grows up learning about his heritage. I celebrate Eid after fasting for Ramadan and would like my children to have an understanding and appreciation of this festival.
Members of my extended family live in both Egypt and the Philippines. It would be nice to have them around as this may give me a better sense of community and provide me with more support raising my children.
Mixed-race people are represented in my organisation at the middle management and administrative level. It would be good to see more mixed-race people at the Executive level across the sector and I know this is an area where having diverse representation at this high level is important. I often find myself discussing race and culture with other ethnic minorities at work. Additionally, I am part of the Race Equality Group which acts as the voice of ethnic minorities in the workplace.