Taylor Mirkarimi is a DEI Program Manager for EMEA Talent Acquisition and Vice President of the Black Employee Network (BEN) UK Operations chapter at Amazon. In her profile, Taylor emphasises how being adaptable and embracing your transferrable skills is key to navigating your career.
Taylor Mirkarimi: My Journey
I recognise that I’ve certainly had a very interesting journey to where I am now. I was born in the UK, but I grew up in Barbados. My mother is Black Barbadian and Indian, with my grandmother on her side being Black and my grandfather Indian. My father is Iranian and was living in the UK when he met my mum. I moved back to Barbados when I was a baby, where I lived for 17 years. I’ve travelled a lot in my life so far, visiting a total of 18 countries so far. I’ve also lived in six countries to date: Barbados, Canada, Miami in the United States, France, Grenada in the Caribbean, before moving back to the UK in 2018. My perceived identity versus my identified ethnicity is something that I have been aware throughout the places I’ve lived in. I am mixed Black, Indian, and Persian heritage, and I identify as a Black woman.
In my current role, I’m a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Program Manager for EMEA Talent Acquisition. What that means is I create new programmes and mechanisms to ensure our recruitment processes are as equitable as possible for all candidates, regardless of their background. When I moved to the UK in 2018, I was involved in the travel business as a travel agent. I worked in one of the top five largest travel agencies in the world, and after a year, I was promoted to Assistant Manager of a travel shop – I loved that job. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and as we know one of the main industries affected was travel and tourism.
I had to start thinking how I could diversify, how I could lean on other parts of my degree – I had done a degree in food service management. This led me to work in one of the Big Five supermarket chains in the UK within the operations field. I guess you could say I ended up in operations by accident and discovered my love for it. The department I worked in saw immense growth within the year.
At that point, I wanted to see how I could go bigger. How can I challenge myself? This brought me to Amazon. I started off in Amazon as an Area Manager. I leaned into my love for DEI here, since the team around me had so much diversity, especially in the form of experiences and backgrounds. I had to look to see how I can cater to them, how I can make them feel included so they can thrive? That’s when I started championing all things DEI, beginning with global cultural awareness or celebration days like Ramadan, LGBT+ History Month, and so on. This passion grew and is what led me to my current role. It’s been a journey – travel and tourism, food and beverage, operations in a retail setting, and now DEI!
The values that are championed within my heritage definitely shaped my career journey. Education is extremely important in West Indian families, given how it can accelerate social mobility. I have always felt I had to work twice as hard and that gave me a sense of resilience and determination that I draw on, and informs how I show up in professional spaces. I always try to be the best I can be and show up as my best. In my role at Amazon, it prompts questions such as: “how do I support the day- to-day work we do as a business?”.
My involvement in the Black Employee Network (BEN) UK Operations chapter at Amazon has been extremely rewarding. For three years in a row, I’ve led the central planning for Black History Month celebrations for our regional operational sites in the UK and Ireland. It’s been extremely gratifying celebrating my colleagues and making that space for them to feel included, seen, and valued by the business.
My word of advice to other women navigating their careers is simple: know your worth. Sometimes as Black women we may feel like we don’t belong in certain spaces or we may have to ‘mask’ who we are. We can be so hard on ourselves by not recognising our wins and trying to follow trajectories. That has certainly helped me grow. Give yourself grace and be easy on yourself, and you can be that support and that voice for people, especially for other ethnic minority women.
This interview was conducted by Michelle Aboagye.
