Khoja News readers have the chance to help a Khoja diversity advocate win the 2019 Muslim Awards for Excellence (MAX) under the category of Professional Excellence.
Zainab Walji is a PWC Partner who leads the Insurance Claims Advisory practice and is an advocate for Diversity and Inclusion in Canada. She speaks on numerous panels about equity in the workplace and how to drive an inclusive culture.
She has been selected as a MAX finalist and the judging process includes a public vote.
Vote today
Voting is open between August 1 to August 15 and you can cast your ballot here*.
You can see some of Zainab’s personal story here.
The objective of MAX is to recognize Muslims who have demonstrated significant achievement, leadership and commitment to serving their community.
Be who you are
Zainab, a mother to two daughters, says: “To me being inclusive means making sure that you are not alienating anyone and everyone feels comfortable to be who they are, cognizant of the differences and those unconscious biases that we have because sometimes how we look or come across is not necessarily who we are.”
She decided to wear her hijab to work after a decade at PWC and was initially worried how clients and colleagues would react.
The confidence for success
Her boss reassured her, saying being her true self would help her succeed because she shared the company’s values of caring about its people, its clients and its community. Part of the PWC ethos is to make employees the best they can be.
“When you can be yourself and be confident you can be successful,” Zainab says.
Helping others
Colleagues praise her as “very altruistic, she doesn’t realise how good she is at her job, she puts back into the community, she believes in helping others.”
*Please note that the voting site recognizes IP Address (to prevent multiple entries from one user) and voters from the same corporation may need to cast their vote from a mobile device (with Wi-Fi turned off).