Question: Does your Ethnic background interfere with your work in any way.

Sinead Balgobin answered on 9 Nov 2015:

That is a really good question.

I am mixed race: my mum is from Ireland (Kerry) and my dad is from Mauritius (an island in the Indian Ocean, near Madagascar). I have never felt like my ethnic background, or how I look has affected my work, or my ability to get work, or work with others… but I have been really lucky so far, and I’m right at the beginning.

Mostly it’s just little things, like at a conference I am more likely to be approached by a scientist from India than England, until they realise I’m not actually Indian… But there are people from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds that come across much more difficult situations everyday. Luckily here we are a bit more accepting of people, whatever they look like or wherever they come from, so they are fewer problems- but even in the developed world, people of colour are paid less, along with women; there are fewer people of colour in positions of responsibility; and there are fewer role models with really diverse backgrounds.

Something must be causing this, and it’s up to all of us to make sure we make our lives and our communities accepting places where everyone can succeed.