
The Confidence Factor for Women: Is My Name Getting In The Way?
Leadership Advice for Professional Women — Is cultural identity a factor in your success?
Dear Carol,
I am an associate at a law firm, who is moving in the right path. I believe that I am on a track to becoming partner within the next 5 years. I have a support network, mentor, a member of an elite ERG, and peer advocates within the firm.
Although everything seems to be on the growth path for my career, recently, one of the partners made a recommendation to my mentor to discuss a potential name change or abbreviation. My family is originally from Northern India and I have a very sentimental name, which has a spiritual meaning. Both my first and middle name are long in length and my father, who is a well renowned physician, has always told me that I should never allow anyone to shorten it, as a sense of pride.
Among my closest friends and family, we have nicknames for each other, but I feel out of place in the workplace now that the cultural context of my name seems to be an issue. I do not want to lose my chance of becoming partner over a name change, but I also do not want to lose my cultural identity and symbolism for my career.
Do you think it is something I should consider?
Your Thoughts,
Nameless
______________________________
Dear Nameless,
I understand your dilemma, and the issue comes down to your own values & cultural bias. However, cultural insensitivity has become a normalized and accepted behavior in corporate culture.
It all comes down to the quality of your performance and your personal preferences. Your name symbolizes something personal to you, and changing it to satisfy the insensitive partner who believes in the aesthetics of the firm, before the quality of the team, will commence several new inconsiderate demands down the line.
Set the bar early.
There is no need to be defensive in your response, however, your name is your name. Your response must be clear and memorialized in writing for your office manager/HR directors’ records. If the firm would like to implement a company wide policy, which bans all culturally-based names, the firm needs to forward a corporate memorandum explaining their request and memorialize it in the company operations manual.
Lastly, this is more than bias, it is discrimination. I believe that they will revise their statement as they will recognize the value of your professional commitment to growing with the firm.
Ultimately, it is your decision. Do you want the career or the name? You can have both, but there needs to be clarity for all, not just for you to get a seat at the table.
Best of luck!
— Carol

Carol Sankar is a high level business consultant and the founder of The Confidence Factor for Women in Leadership, which is a global executive leadership firm focused on diversity and inclusion initiatives for high level women. Carol has been featured at TEDx, The Steve Harvey Show, Bounce TV, Inroads, The Society for Diversity, SHRM, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, Forbes and more. For more details, visit www.carolsankar.com
