Diana Initiative 2022-Aarti Gadhia and Sherifat Akinwonmi-Don’t settle for less - know your value!
Channel: The Diana Initiative
Date: 25/07/2022

Diana Initiative 2022-Aarti Gadhia and Sherifat Akinwonmi-Don’t settle for less - know your value!

You aced the interview and the hiring manager offered a salary but it was less than what you expected! Do you accept it, do you ask for more or do you decline it? According to research, women make 82 cents for every dollar earned by a man and the gap is even wider for women of color, LGBTQ and other underrepresented groups. The pandemic hit the economy hard and many women left the workforce. Unfortunately in some industries, taking a leave of absence or paternity leave negatively impacts opportunities into leadership positions and salary because it reduces the # of years when calculating experience. Will the gender pay gap widen as a result of the pandemic? The solution to closing the gap is to create a transparent culture and provide visibility to employees however it is easier said than done. Whether you’ve recently graduated or you are returning back to the workforce, or if you are considering your next move, negotiating what your next job offer, promotion, benefits and pay is important. In this session attendees will learn:
1- Why it is important to know your personal value
2- Who is responsible to correct the pay gap
3- When to negotiate and when to turn down an offer
4- Where to find resources so you know what you’re worth
5- What you can apply through 4 simple tips on negotiation strategies and tactics

SPEAKER

Sherifat Akinwonmi

TD Bank

Business Information Security Officer

Sherifat is a Cyber Security professional with work experience across diverse industries including Banking, Oil & Energy Services, Pharmaceuticals, and IT services. She is currently a Business Information Security Officer (BISO) with one of the top banks in Northern America. She holds a master's degree with Distinction from the University of Salford, England, and a Bachelor's degree with First class honors in Computer Science and Technology from Bowen University, Nigeria.

She holds several cyber security professional certifications such as Certified Cloud Security Professional CCSP, Certified Information Systems Security Professional CISSP, CCISO, ISO27001 LI amongst several others.

She has great passion and interest in enabling women in their professional career. She serves as a member of several boards including Advisory Board for Canadian Women in Cybersecurity, Girls & Women Technological Empowerment Organization (GWTEO) past mentor of Cybersafe 2021 program, and also a co-founder of Women in Cybersecurity & Technology (WICT).

She volunteers her time mentoring young people to launch their career in Technology and supports the less privileged.

SPEAKER

Aarti Gadhia

Tines and ObserveID

Aarti Gadhia is a change maker and has dedicated her entire career to breaking down barriers and boundaries to achieve equality for underrepresented groups in STEM and in leadership. She founded Standout To Lead to empower women in cybersecurity to join boards and as a result 30 women have begun their board journey. She also founded SHE (Sharing Her Empowerment) with a mission to be a collective voice and accelerate change. She is currently at Tines and has worked with prestigious companies including Sophos, Trend Micro, Carbon Black (VMware) and Bugcrowd. Aarti also serves as the Board Director for ObserveID, an identity intelligence and automation platform. She volunteers her time and serves on the OWASP Vancouver Board and is an advisor for WiCYS Western Canada Affiliate Board. Aarti was honored for her contribution to the cybersecurity community by being named as one of the Top 20 Women in Cyber Security in Canada. She is a speaker and one of the authors of the book "The Rise of the Cyber Women: Volume Two" as she shared her Safari of experiences as a change agent paving the path for future generations. She was quoted in Canadian Security Magazine as she shared her views on the importance of soft skills to break down barriers in traditional hiring.Due to her international background, she loves to travel and learn different cultures. If you’ve seen her post on LinkedIn titled Phulka Roti, you’ll know that she enjoys cooking.