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Building the Canadian Dream
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The Financial Services Inclusion Sessions 2024
Overcoming the 60-second Bias to Discover Hidden Talent and Reinvigorating Pluralism in Canada
Session 1: November 18
Time: 12pm to 1pm, Eastern Time
Location: Virtual
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Upcoming Agenda
Past Agenda
Our mission has expanded to include the full spectrum of what diversity should mean when hiring financial services talent.
- We aim to bridge the gap between personal, professional, and digital biases to help financial services organizations unearth valuable talent.
- We aim to bridge that gap by helping career prospects understand how to overcome those biases to secure a role worthy of their talents.
- We aim to bring employers and talent together to find innovative ways to breakthrough the bias.
Session 1: November 18, 2024
For organizations to benefit from a diverse employee community, they must actualize their commitment to IDEA in their hiring efforts by embracing equitable and inclusive hiring practises. It’s not just about good intentions; it’s about strategic, deliberate approaches that address bias and provide consistency at each stage of the hiring process.
Learning Outcomes:
Increase your understanding of the types of bias that appear in hiring.
Improve your knowledge of current tools and tactics used to create a more inclusive hiring process.
Speakers:
Ellie Rusonik, Senior Vice-President/Lead, KCI Search + Talent
Ellie is an experienced development professional with over twenty years in the not-for-profit sector. Ellie brings broad leadership expertise in board development, philanthropy and major gift fundraising, community outreach, and marketing/communications.
Ellie joined KCI in 2018 and has become known as a dynamic leader and consummate team player who has hired and coached many promising and successful leaders.
Ellie holds a BSc in Kinesiology and a certificate in Sport Administration from York University.
Samantha David, Vice-President, KCI Search + Talent
Samantha is an experienced non-profit leader with 30 years in the sector and diverse skills in organizational leadership, fundraising, marketing, and board relations.
Samantha joined KCI in 2019 and is driven by the desire to help organizations reach their potential. Samantha challenges the status quo during the search process to ensure an equitable process that delivers the best outcome for both clients and candidates.
Samantha holds a Master of Social Work from McGill University, a certificate in Adult Education from StFX and has completed the Ivey Executive Leadership Program.
2024 Agenda
2024 Pre-Registration
11:30 – 12:00 Registration
12:00 – 12:10 Introduction and welcome by Pat Dunwoody & Tracy Chong
12:10 – 12:35 Welcome from a Political and Regulatory Representatives (TBC)
12:35 – 1:35 The Subtle Way Cultural Bias Affects Job Interviews – Presentation
1:35 – 2:35 Panel – How do you get over your 60 second bias? How do you discover hidden talent when your bias won’t let you.
Facilitator: Pat Dunwoody, CEO, Strategicly
Panelist: Jeff Lazenby, President & CEO, Career Edge
Panelist: TBC
Panelist: TBC
2:35 – 2:50 Break
2:50 – 3:15 Other biases not included in DEI: Educational, Ageism, Economic Bias
Facilitator: Tracy Chong, President & Brand Economist, Strata Insights
Panelist: Amber Stephenson, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor, Clarkson University
Panelist: Mike Ruysseveldt, Director, Indigenous Relations and New Business, Kinectrics
Panelist: TBC
3:15 – 4:15 Experiences of Under-represented Groups
Facilitator:
Panelist: Rabia Khadir, National Director, Disability Without Poverty
Panelist: TBC
Panelist: TBC
4:15 – 4:50 Next Steps – How does a Company Change/Adjust the Corporate Culture
4:50 – 6:00 Reception
| 11:30 – 12:00 | Registration |
| 12:00 – 12:10 | Introduction and welcome by Pat Dunwoody & Tracy Chong |
| 12:10 – 12:35 | Welcome from a Political and Regulatory Representatives (TBC) |
| 12:35 – 1:35 | The Subtle Way Cultural Bias Affects Job Interviews – Presentation |
| 1:35 – 2:35 | Panel – How do you get over your 60 second bias? How do you discover hidden talent when your bias won’t let you? Facilitator: Pat Dunwoody, CEO, Strategicly Panelist: Jeff Lazenby, President & CEO, Career Edge Panelist: TBC Panelist: TBC |
| 2:35 – 2:50 | Break |
| 2:50 – 3:15 |
Other biases not included in DEI: Educational, Ageism, Economic Bias Facilitator: Tracy Chong, President & Brand Economist, Strata Insights Panelist: Candies Kotchapaw, CEO, DYLOTT Panelist: Mike Ruysseveldt, Director, Indigenous Relations and New Business, Kinectrics Panelist: TBC |
| 3:15 – 4:15 |
Experiences of Under-represented Groups Facilitator: Panelist: Rabia Khadir, National Director, Disability Without Poverty Panelist: TBC Panelist: TBC |
| 4:15 – 4:50 | Next Steps – How does a Company Change/Adjust the Corporate Culture |
| 4:50 – 6:00 | Reception |
Our History
Canada is expected to welcome 1.45 million immigrants over the next three years, with Statistics Canada projecting that the proportion of immigrants in our population could reach up 30% by 2036 and more than half of them would be of Asian origin. Of the Government of Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan for 2023-2025, more than 20% are expected to be skilled workers, including experienced finance professionals.
For the past two years, the Summit was called the Financial Summit for Newcomer Advisors. It was a first-of-its kind forum to foster insightful discussions, exchange experiences, and collectively develop strategies to assist newcomer financial professionals navigate the complexity of gainful employment in Canada’s financial services sector. Our goal was to empower these professionals by providing innovative work-integrated training programs, coaching and mentorship, and workplace cultural sensitivity support to position themselves for successful and fulfilling careers in the long run.
The summit also addressed the recruitment challenges encountered. By understanding and addressing these issues, our goal was to create a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable workforce that can truly leverage the broad knowledge capital, the depth of experience, unique insights, and expansive networks that global finance professionals bring to Canadian financial industry employers.
Understanding these employment challenges, we saw overlap with other visible minorities. We saw the greater need to creat solutions as a broader group when so many face the same issues.
2024 Sponsorship Inquiries
General Inquiries
Pat Dunwoody
patdunwoody@strategicly.com
Sponsorship
Dinesh Kumar
dinesh@369global.com
Press
Tracy Chong
tracy@stratainsights.com
2024 Sponsors
2024 Sponsors
Industry Partners
Media Partners
Sponsors
Photo Gallery
Want to see more photos from the event? Click the button below to access the photo gallery! Please don’t forget to tag and include 369Konnect in the photo credits should you wish to publish them.
The event concluded with a reception and meaningful networking in a room filled with students, business leaders, and industry partners.
If you enjoyed this event and/or are interested in learning more about similar initiatives across different industries, follow us on social media to stay in touch.
If you are interested in learning more about how you or your organization can get involved and be a leader in this space, email us at hello@369konnect.co and we can discuss.
Our Previous Summits
Our 2023 Financial Summit for Newcomer Advisors, was presented by 369 Global, RBC, Canadian ETF Association (CETFA) and powered by 369Konnect
Speakers included: MPP Deepak Anand, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, Amit Brahme, Neelam Advani, Pat Dunwoody, Shaun Darchiville, Fazaad Bacchus, Vithu Ramachandran, Sabina Michael, Rick Wood, Joady Guyot, Margaret Bennett, Wanzi Silva, Abhiram Prabhu, Muraly Srinarayanathas, and Shara Santan!
2023 Speakers & Sponsors
2023 Sponsors
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Our 2023 Sponsors
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Sponsors
2023 Keynote Speaker
MPP Deepak Anand
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development
Amit Brahme, Head Newcomer and Cultural Client Segment at the Royal Bank of Canada, introduced MPP Deepak Anand, who shared his thoughts at the Financial Summit for Newcomer Advisors 2023.
Read bio
Wanzi Silva
Senior Manager, Newcomer & Cultural Client Segment, Personal Financing Products Personal & Commercial Banking, RBC
Read bio
MPP Deepak Anand
Parliamentary Assistant to Minister McNaughton – Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.
