“I get misjudged about my race and ethnicity” – Philippa Arno from California

First of all, congratulations on your new position! There are a lot of layers to you, including your relatively young age. Why do people misjudge you often?

Thanks! Yes, I’m 29 and enjoying being proud of saying my age out loud. I get quite a few comments on my age. But, to be honest, discrimination with age can always be covered up using the word “experience”. Everyone who knows me knows that I’m an “old soul” (laughs). I educate myself on topics I don’t understand, and I ask a lot of questions all in an effort to avoid being labelled with the “millennial mentality” stereotype of being lazy and impatient.

Not only do I get misjudged about my age, but also about my race and ethnicity. Due to my lighter skin colour, people quite often assume that I am mixed. Southeast Asian, Brazilian, Hawaiian…I’ve heard it all! But I’m actually Black. I grew up in the United States, so I identify with Black-American culture. But I was raised in a Caribbean-American household. We are Guyanese and St. Lucian.

What type of lessons from your family and your environment really moulded you while growing up?

My mom’s family has a lot of women in it. I believe that’s why my grandfather always made a point of telling his daughters and granddaughters to remain “independent variables”. While that might seem quite the opposite of Caribbean stereotypes for women, it is simply the harsh reality that women have traditionally had to be dependent. At the same time, much of the world and the United States have opened up opportunities to women to not have to be financially, physically or emotionally reliant on anyone. While people sometimes think I take this too far, it makes me even more appreciative of those who show up for me. This is why I make it a point to remain direct yet thankful in all that I do.

Has your skin tone ever had any negative impact on your career?

An issue within the Black communities all over the world is colourism, a prejudice or idea that Black men and women with lighter skin are treated better than those with darker skin. Colourism attributes a certain “power” to me within the Black community and therefore may have protected me from discrimination in the past. That being said, I can (and have) received grief about my light skin from Black and non-Black friends and colleagues. But with my supposed “light-skin power”, I feel responsible and am expected to just “take it”.

One thing I would also like to mention is the additional (unwritten) responsibility, as a Black person in leadership, to support Black team members when I was in the QSC Atlanta. One thing I have realized in the QSC which has a relatively large percentage of Black people is that the few Black managers have often been turned to for professional and emotional support because Black team members tend to identify with each other. In fact, my fellow Black managers and I have often been mentoring team members from other teams because they have felt more comfortable talking with us about personal and career challenges than with their own managers and even HR. And we have taken on this responsibility to ensure the well-being of our team members.

What is your advice on how people who are “not-of-colour”, so to speak, should interact with people of colour?

If you are working with people of colour, my advice is this: First, always remain cognizant of the fact that your experience is likely not the same as theirs. I would shy away from saying things like “I had an experience like that, too”, because it likely was not the same. I would also shy away from saying “I understand how you feel”. Instead, I would suggest responding “I can only imagine how that feels”. This helps you to be empathetic without minimizing because you cannot ever really understand. Second, educate yourself, as it isn’t the responsibility of Black people to educate non-Black people about the history of Black people. And, lastly, keep in mind that there’s nothing wrong with using the word “Black” in the US. “Black” covers many communities: Caribbean, African, African-American, mixed, Afro-Latin, etc. However, I would also add that everyone is entitled to choose what they want to be called. So, when in doubt, ask!

Switching to another topic, what do you think still needs to change to get more women into leadership positions at Hapag-Lloyd?

That’s easy: flexibility! For single women and women with partners and/or families, having flexibility in their working life is key. If we can create safe spaces for women to ask for a bit of flexibility so as to be able to better manage their lives outside of Hapag-Lloyd, we will make the organization more welcoming to women in general and to women in leadership positions. I know from working and chatting within women inside and outside of Hapag-Lloyd that there is a certain sense of guilt associated with asking for flexibility in working hours. On top of that, we often actually offer to work harder or longer when we can’t work normal hours, which in turn contributes to burnout and frustration. Getting rid of the guilt associated with having a family or taking care of personal business during business hours will make being a women in this industry more appealing as we continue to try to close the gender gap at Hapag-Lloyd.

What advice do you have for your fellow women at Hapag-Lloyd?

First, as the saying goes, “closed mouths don’t get fed”. In other words, if you want something, ask for it because the worst they could do is say “no”. Second, instead of being discouraged by a “no”, use it as an opportunity to solicit feedback on how to do better the next time. And, third, for anyone in a leadership position, my advice would be: Always train your replacement! This is what Sonia Hester, my first manager at Hapag-Lloyd, always told me. One should never be afraid of being replaced because, if you are being replaced, it should only be because you are moving on to bigger and better things for yourself. That’s also what I have always told my own mentees.

The Hapag-Lloyd family includes around 14,100 employees in more than 130 countries across the world. This size and internationality translates into a wide range of cultures, habits, customs and norms. Our diversity is a strength. Though we are a single company, we value our differences. We believe that understanding people and their backgrounds is crucial to our growth as individuals and a community. And we view our diverse workforce as a gift that offers everybody a better sense of cohesion, which in turn fosters a more positive and open corporate culture.