Dienaba wants everyone at the table.

For Dienaba, diversity is part of her DNA. Born and raised in France to Senegalese parents, when she moved to London, she was looking for a company with diversity at its heart. She found a home at Deutsche Bank. 

“If you’re different to everyone else, one of the first things you look for is a role model.”

The concept of role models is one that Dienaba holds dear - she believes they play a crucial role in fostering inclusivity. Having someone in the business that you can identify with is a great way to succeed. Before even joining the Group Audit team in London, she was put in touch with a new MD in the function – someone who had many things in common with her. A fellow French women, the soon-to-be colleagues discussed charting a career path as a woman, struggling with a new language and a different culture. Dienaba remembers her advice quite clearly, ‘Be clear about your ambitions and share them with people around you. If you do that, you’ll feel more valued and get more relevant opportunities.’ It’s advice she has not forgotten.

Dienaba has noticed a steady shift in diversity and inclusion practices in the corporate world in recent years, specifically within Deutsche Bank. of course, there’s still lots to be done to see a balanced workforce in the finance industry but Dienaba sees lots of change happening. Now, she feels there are no limits.

“Leadership is about leveraging different views, different people and different ways of seeing things to solve complex issues.”

To take her advocacy of diversity to the next level, Dienaba recently became co-chair dbENRICH, an Employee Resource Group. Its objective is to celebrate the rich cultural and ethnic diversity at the bank and to raise awareness around issues that affect minority groups. It was formed after research highlighted how an ethnically diverse company will outperform a less diverse one by 35%. So, to Dienaba, it’s clear that diversity is not simply a nice to have, or the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.

“To be successful, we need people from different genders, backgrounds and ethnicities. At Deutsche Bank, we want everyone at the table.”

As part of dbENRICH she has pioneered a mentoring programme for those from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. For Dienaba, networking is about more than a platform for people to meet, connect and talk. The programme is focussed on helping people to learn and expand their ambitions and horizons.