What role can recruitment play in creating a gender-balanced workforce throughout the financial services industry? Karima Jibril, Principal Consultant at Selby Jennings, shares her thoughts for International Women's Day 2020.
The 2020 International Women’s Day theme is that an equal world is an enabled world. What does that mean to you in the financial services?
To me, this means that when all people are given the opportunities, platforms and support to succeed, then the financial services industry will only continue to flourish and grow as a strong and equitable job market.
What sort of conversations around gender equality do you have with clients and candidates in your sector?
Gender equality, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion, are very common topics of conversation with the clients that I work with. All of my clients are concerned with the challenge of promoting a diverse and equitable workplace that is representative of their constituents and customers.
What role can recruiters play in creating an equal world?
Recruiters can play a key role in promoting a more diverse, equitable and inclusive world and workforce, by being advocates for more diverse hiring and encouraging clients to embrace change. Recruiters can be champions for diverse candidates, and advise clients on the best ways to attract and promote diverse hiring.
What advice would you give to a company trying to create a diverse hiring strategy?
I would encourage companies to first identify where they are falling short with diversity in their organization, whether it be the actual hiring or the retention, and address these challenges comprehensively. Identifying strong candidates internally with potential for other roles within the organization and training them to step into new leadership positions can also be effective.
Karima Jibril is a Principal Recruitment Consultant for Selby Jennings. After graduating from Binghamton University with a Degree in Classical Vocal Performance, she has been recruiting for 2 years in the Risk & Analytics Space. For advice on building a diverse hiring strategy, get in touch with the Selby Jennings team.
About us
Selby Jennings is a leading specialist recruitment agency for banking and financial services. For more than 15 years, we have given clients and candidates peace of mind that the recruitment process is in expert hands. Our continual investment in best-in-class technologies and consultant training enables us to recruit with speed, precision and accuracy. Today, Selby Jennings provides permanent, contract and multi-hire recruitment from our global hubs all over the world.