Hello, everyone. Like I said before, good evening or good morning, depending on where you're joining. I am Sylvia Gallito, deputy CEO at SISTAC.We are an organization that supports refugee women to build sustainable careers in tech across Europe. We are in Italy. We are in France. We are in Greece. And at CStack, everything we do is grounded in the belief that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not sometimes. Our programs combine digital upskilling, career mentorship, and job matching to support refugee women access the tech industry and get sustainable jobs of their choice. This session today, and thanks again for joining us, is a fireside chat. It's gonna be me and Ranib. It's gonna be informal, honest, and hopefully inspiring for all of you.

We'll be talking about how tech can be a tool for inclusion, especially for women from displaced refugee backgrounds, and how to overcome stereotypes and their years, and, actually, also what companies and leaders like you can practically do to build inclusive workplaces. But let me now introduce, the guest star today. I met Raneem Al Dagestani. It was April 2024 during SysTech networking event in Paris. This event, it's a celebration of the women in our programs where they pitch their skills in front of companies and connect directly with recruiters. We asked at that time, Ranim, who's also a proud C stack alumna. She was part of our programs. We asked her in 2024 to be the MC, the presenter of the night. And from the moment she stepped on stage, I was impressed by not only her confidence, but especially her generosity in making others shine.

Raneem, thanks a lot for being with us today. Are you ready to jump in?

Thank you, Sylvia. Thank you very much. And, yes, let's do it. So, I'm Raniem, originally from Syria, and I've been living in France since 2017. I'm honored to be here today as a as a speaker, in this important event. So my my my background includes working as, a radio presenter and producer in Jordan, and later as a journalist at Euronews and is the project manager later at Vimpa Paribas Bank. I am also passionate about helping entrepreneur improve their digital presence and have had the privilege of being part of Sysdig membership program, and I'm excited, really to share my journey with you today.

Thank you, Rani. Since we are attending and, we're hosted by a global conference, which is about women in tech, my question to you is, did you always want to work in the digital and tech space?

Not at all. Actually, when I moved to France and during COVID time also, I was actually thinking about changing my career and learning something new. So one day, I was shopping online in a big, big platform, in a really big platform, and I didn't receive my order. So I spent about forty five minutes trying just to ask for refund. Normally, it has to be one click, less than five minutes, and you ask for your refund. So it was really complicated that I give up and did and did that up calling the company, which has cost me really money. So I said to myself, like, one hour to ask for a refund, that's huge. That's when I start wondering who create this user experience, and it was really bad user experience. So I looked it up. I Googled it, and I discovered UX design.

Then I found CisTek at Facebook, and I applied. And then I followed, UX design training with, with with them, with USO. And that's how my journey into tech started.

Okay. Awesome. Yeah. And what are the tech skills that open real doors for you, Ranit?

To be honest, for me, the most useful skills were in digital digital communication and marketing. And thanks to my background in journalism, I was already comfortable creating, content and adapting to different platforms. But once I learned how to use social media more strategically and, I could really, connect with, with people in a better way. And later at Bank, I worked as, as I mentioned, regional, digital project manager where I supported teams and helped, promote digital tools. And that hands on experience really opened a lot of doors for me. Sure.

Okay. Okay. Okay. You've mentioned in your introduction and experience using a platform and having issues with accessibility, which is quite common sometimes. In your opinion, how can tech products and services be designed to better support people which are navigating migration or displacement? What's your opinion on that?

Tech can really helps migrants and refugee, if it's designed to be inclusive. That means offering different languages, giving local information, and making it easier to fill out, off shell, forms of paperwork. You know? So for example, my mom lives here in France, and since, like, almost seven years also. And whenever she need to see a doctor, she asked me to to make an appointment for her because we use an application to take an appointment with the doctors. So it's it's it's on my telephone, so I have to to do that for her because she doesn't speak French well, enough to to do this, on her own. So since many refugees only have access to smartphone, mobile solution are really very, very important.

The tools need to be easy to use, quick to access, and, really adapted to people who are often, in in really stressful and unfamiliar situation. In the end, the the take on fetch should not only help us connect, but also empower us. And, honestly, when you make a product easier to to someone with immigrants background, you're actually making it better for everyone.

Sure. Sure. Thanks, Janine. Technology can be indeed inclusive, and I'd like to focus now on what happens, when we shift the focus from products to workplaces. And I'm gonna ask you a bit of a provocative question. Do companies really want refugee talent, or do they want just a good story for their CSR reports?

At I wonder if the company is really aware interested in, in the skills of refugee or just looking for a good story, for their s a SSR CSR story reports. So So I had an experience, and I would like to share it with you that made me think about this. My one of my previous manager introduced me to to our director as a refugee. So this label, I didn't appreciate this person how she she she introduced me. And she didn't focus really on the fact that about my professional experience, about my previous work, about anything. You know? I was journalist also before this, and I I was a radio presenter. You know? So she didn't mention anything about that. She's just a refugee woman. So it made me realize that sometimes company care more about the image than the the the real value that we bring to their company.

Of course, it's just one example. You know? I'm not I'm not saying all the companies, doing the same. So some companies using this for their image, but money truly believe in diversity and, sea refugee as a real benefit. Okay. And hopefully.

Okay. Okay. Okay. Thanks for sharing this, Ranin. What are the barriers that underrepresented women face when they're entering the tech industry? And, especially, how can companies create truly inclusive pathways?

Actually, visually women often don't have the right support. I mean, they might not not know the right people, don't have monitors, and sometimes they they treated differently just because they are women. And how we think when we are women and refugee, you know, to really help, I think, companies should give them training, monitoring, and create a place where where we can feel welcome to, to grow. And, it's also important to stop thinking that tech is only for certain people even if if someone didn't go to big name schools, so they can still do a great job in tech.

Sure. So

give give them a chance. You know what I mean?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Your message is very clear, Rani. And I was thinking about we talked about tech skills and products and workplaces, and then you get hired. And I was thinking that getting hired is one thing, is one next step. But being truly seen and trusted once you're in the room, once you get the job, it might be another challenge maybe. So in your experience, how do you build trust, with coworkers, with colleagues who might have already made up their minds about you as a refugee, as you said, as a level or as a woman?

Yeah. But, actually, as you said, it's it's a really challenge. It's not easy. It's always not easy. But I try from my part, I try, like, to do my job well and to be someone people can count on. When they, see that, I think little by little, their opinion start to change also. I also take time to connect with them as a people, not just as a colleague. You know? So when they see you, who you really are, they the the trust start to grow. Actually, nowadays, also, I when I work today with the company, I have good professional relationship with them. At the the hand, I also made friends. You know?

So sometimes we go out. Sometimes we go to some resto. So we we chat together even during the weekend. So I build this, this this trust between me and my colleague.

Okay. Okay. Sure. Sure. And indeed relationship matters, and so do practical skills. So let's talk about the, the tech side. What tech tools does any woman need to advance her careers, especially if she's navigating a new environment like it happened to you in the past?

Actually, the right tech tools can make, a bit different. So, tools like LinkedIn, as number one professional platform, for networking and building your profile, sure, are really important. Project management tools help you to stay organized, especially when you're working with the remote teams also nowadays. But, you know, during the the peak of since the COVID time, we start to discover the how to work, in remote. So I'm learning platform like Coursera, are create create, for learning new skills. I think for women who are navigating new, environments, especially this from, marginalized communities, I think organization like SysTech can can offer an incredible support. Because for me, SysTech, it was the door for me, especially to work and to start to work with the French company and with the French people.

It was like delight, you know, in front of me. It was delight. Because when I arrive here, yes, I want to change my job as a journalist. And I start to find some ideas about the tech, job because I was really interested about marketing, UX design, but I was lost. So I have so many ideas in my head. And since I discovered SysTech, I've I found that someone take my hand. I will give you example like this. Someone take my hand and and show me the way. You know?

Okay. Okay. Okay. And I'm curious to know more, Rani, about this. What did you found the most helpful? Was it the technical training, the mentorship, the community peer support?

For me, it's really a mix between both. Technical training helped me, to learn the tools I needed, but mentorship made big difference also because having someone, professional to support me and, to share their experience, really helped me to grow. And, they give you an advices, when we come of when I come here to France also, like, I don't know how to communicate with the people, you know, in which way, how to apply, which kind of platform that I can to apply to find a job. And, being part of community where people understand that, what it means to be a woman and a refugee at the same time, that give me a lot of support. Also networking, networking, networking. You know? So has been, I think, very important, and it opens the door to help me to feel more confident, to find my place here.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I like this message, Anima, that you're giving because, actually, behind every success story, there's always support. There's always a community. But there's also, I would say, natural talent and drive and motivation, which brings me now to the core talent we're talking about today, refugee women. What makes them natural candidates for tech roles?

Actually, refugee women are strong and flexible. They've had to adapt to big life different changes, and that helps, them solve problems in creative way. As I mentioned before, I moved I was I was born in Syria. So after that, because of the war, I will share my my personal story with you a little bit. So I moved to Jordan. In Jordan, I, I start I restart my life from zero. You know? I don't know if it's correct in English or not, but I really have to start my I didn't have difficulty with the language because we speak Arabic in the two lang in the two countries. But I have to start I'm single mother, so I have to start my life with my kids, find department, find a job, put my kids at school, do doctors.

So I found solution solution everyone for for everything. So when I moved to France also in 2017, it was even harder because the culture is not the same. The food is not the same for my kids. It was really, really big change. They at the beginning, they said to me, we don't know how to eat, what to eat. You know? So, the language, the paper that we have to do, we have to find department. We have to I have to find job. So I found always a solution for everything. And I think refugee woman often see, things differently, which is bring fresh ideas to many teams and many companies. And, many of them are are also really motivated to succeed them, not just for themselves, but as I mentioned, also for their family too.

I want I want for myself, personally, I want really my kids to be proud of of their mother also that she really did something in a new country, in the country, you know, where she she's she's still young, and she moved in a new country, and she had a good job. So so I think that drive makes, and and me to be focused, hardworking, and, ready to learn.

Okay. Okay. Thank you for this message, honey. We have a few minute a couple of minutes left. So I'd like you to send a call to action in the end. And my last question to you is, what can leaders listening to you now, the people in this room, what can they do starting from now to build a tech sector that doesn't miss out talents like you?

If I could ask one thing from leaders, it's to take action. I mean, start by making hiring more fair and inclusive, giving refugee women access to training, mentorship, and real opportunities to grow, collaborate with organization, that already support us like like Sysdig, and take, take the time to learn from them. Most of all, believe in the potential we bring. When you truly open the doors, you you don't just help us. You help your teams, your company also to become stronger and more diverse and more creative. So this is my message.

Thank you, Rani. Thanks a lot. So, Rani, thanks a lot. Very grateful, to be to have been here with you. Thanks a lot for sharing your journey, your insight with such honesty, generosity, like I said at the beginning. And thanks to everyone, in this room, for listening to Ronin and to our chat today, for being part of this conversation. We hope it, it left you with some reflections and some concrete ideas maybe. If you wanna stay connected, you can find both SysTech and Raneem on LinkedIn. I've copy pasted the, LinkedIn profile here in the chat. I'm doing this again, and this is the profile of Rani. We'd love to stay in touch with you and to continue the conversation on this topic. Sure. Thank you, Sylvia. Thank you, Ronin. Thanks again.

Thank you, and thank you all for for taking time to to listen today for my for my story.

It was a real pleasure. Thank you very much. Bye, everyone. And thanks.