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How the head of DSJ Global Berlin supports diversity in the supply chain industry

Posted on March 2023

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When Phaidon International approached Yacine Fall in 2019, the Berlin office had only just opened. It offered tremendous potential for growth, which Yacine saw and seized. 

Originally from the south of Germany and a passionate dancer to this day, Yacine had moved to Berlin to study sports and economics. Upon graduation, she wanted a career that empowered her to decide for herself where to go and how to progress. At DSJ Global, she entered the world of end-to-end Supply Chain and has advanced to brand head for DSJ Global in Berlin in just four years. 

We spoke to Yacine about the importance of International Womenโ€™s Day, how she encourages diversity both within her team and at the companies she consults, what advice she would give her younger self, and more. 

What are you proudest of in your career?

โ€œThere have been quite a lot of things Iโ€™m super proud of, including the progress Iโ€™ve made as a person.My team at DSJ Global broke a very long-standing record in January, and it was one of the goals Iโ€™d set myself when I became head of DSJ Global in Berlin. Iโ€™mvery proud that we achieved this as a team, that everyone contributed to a collective effort. It was not a one-man or one-woman show.

โ€œIโ€™m also proud of the growth Iโ€™ve seen and supported. We are now twelve people in the Berlin office. When I started in 2019, we were three. For this year, my goal is to guide several team members into their first management role, which will allow us to grow even further.โ€

Why do you think itโ€™s important to celebrate International Womenโ€™s Day, especially in the workplace?

โ€œI think itโ€™s important to celebrate International Womenโ€™s Day to highlight it and create awareness around it. But I think itโ€™s even more important to make it an actual effort and to center a mission of change. Of course, thatโ€™s not something that is done within one day. Rather, every day must be part of the DNA of a business and must be driven forward โ€“ not only by women but as a collective effort to change something. 

โ€œIโ€™m very happy that I found my way into a company that is making an honest effort in changing things. Iโ€™m part of an office where we have a very diverse leadership team and veryproud of all the other women who are coming into managing roles and actually dominating the management table by numbers. Letโ€™s see what the next year brings!โ€

How do you encourage gender diversity internally in your brand? 

โ€œFor me, itโ€™s not only about gender diversity. In my team, we have quite a good balance between male and female. Diversity also means that you have people of the LGBTQ+ community, people of different races, people of different ages, different nationalities, different languages. Thatโ€™s what weโ€™re trying to embody in our brand. 

โ€œTo achieve it, we make our hiring as transparent as possible. That involves asking the same questions to everyone to prevent a biased interview process, as well as speaking to as many people as possible. We try to get to know the candidates on an individual level even if they donโ€™t seem like the perfect fit on paper. Thatโ€™s what I base my own hiring on. 

โ€œSo far, my efforts reflect in the team. Of course,thatโ€™s not something you can simply check off a list. Thereโ€™s always room for improvement. Therefore,weโ€™re working closely with our Talent Acquisition Team to make sure they know the kind of people weโ€™re looking for. Thatโ€™svery important to me and the DSJ Global hiring strategy.โ€

How do you encourage gender diversity in your sector?

โ€œAs partners for the companies weโ€™re working with, we engage with them on eye-level and truly consult them.

โ€œWithin end-to-end Supply Chain, especially when you look towards the automotive industry, itโ€™s very male dominated. We make an active effort to highlight female talent or candidates from minority groups to make sure they are actually seen and represented in front of our clients. 

โ€œItโ€™s an active effort on our part to provide a diverse shortlist. Sometimes, when we find an outstanding female professional looking for a new opportunity, we also contact companies to introduce this candidate. 

โ€œOf course, female talent has always been a topic, but compared to when I first started, far more companies are telling us directly they expect a certain quota of female candidates in the shortlists we provide. To me, that shows that theyโ€™reactually trying to make an effortand address a lack of diversity in their company. Especially bigger companies now have more guidelines in place to avoid discrimination. 

โ€œBut itโ€™s still a long way to go for end-to-end Supply Chain. The roles that we work on at DSJ Global are at a certain seniority level and we can only work with the professionals who are already there. In the future, I think we will see more female talent since a lot of company programs are targeting diverse candidates early on in their careers. You can tell that awareness is increasing year by year, which is a very good thing to see.โ€

What advice would you give your younger self?

โ€œThe advice I would give to myself in the early stages of my professional career is that you donโ€™t have to apologize for being loud or speaking your mind. Especially now as a female leader, I have far more confidence in myself and in the things Iโ€™m saying. I realised that when I first started in the corporate world, I always tried to blend in. I would tell my younger self to not dim your light just to not blind other people. Be there, be vocal, speak your mind. Then youโ€™re going to find your place.โ€

What advice would you give other women and women of color in the professional world? 

โ€œEspecially for women of color, when youโ€™re raised in a very white environment, we usually fall into the trap that you always feel like the eyes are on you and that you draw a lot of attention by the way that you look. Oftentimes, we want to be everybodyโ€™s darling and become a people pleaser to not step on anyoneโ€™s toes. 

โ€œBut to actually change the way things work in the world, you need to step on peopleโ€™s toes and have uncomfortable conversations. To gain the strength to do that, itโ€™sbvery important to find your allies within a company quite quickly, for example, find your sponsors and mentors. Surround yourself with them, speak to them, use them and then itโ€™s going to be far easier to gain the confidence to have these uncomfortable conversations and step on other peopleโ€™s toes a little bit.โ€

For more interviews with the inspiring women at Phaidon International, please visit our hub here.