ISTAT Jetrader - Winter 2023 - 15

LEFT TO RIGHT:
ISTAT DEI Award Committee
Chair Mylène Scholnick;
Gillian Cooney, SMBC
Aviation Capital's head of
HR; and Peter Barrett, SMBC
Aviation Capital's CEO.
DEI Committee, when accepting the company's award at
ISTAT EMEA on 3 October. " We have had senior female
representation in the company for many years, but it's fair to
say that we struggled to attract women and employees from
diverse backgrounds in a representative way. However, in the
past five years, we've put greater emphasis on formalizing our
approach to DEI, and this approach has yielded results. This is
a long road, and we're not there yet, but conscious decisionmaking
and proactively measuring and managing our efforts
are helping to drive progress. "
Strategic Actions for Change
To achieve its diversity goals, SMBC Aviation Capital
implemented a series of strategic actions:
* Recruitment Process Enhancement: Adapted
its recruitment processes. Through the use of
artificial intelligence, SMBC Aviation Capital ensured
job descriptions and recruitment advertisements
were neutral and appealing to a broader range
of candidates.
* Early Careers Program: Expanded its graduate
program to create a comprehensive early careers
program that includes internships, apprenticeships
and partnerships with organizations like the Trinity
Centre for Physical and Intellectual Disabilities.
" It was only a few years ago that we had an early
" This is a long road, and we're not
there yet, but conscious decisionmaking
and proactively measuring and
managing our efforts are helping to
drive progress. "
demographics. The company aimed at improving its
diversity, with a focus on gender, cultural diversity and
socioeconomic background.
" Diversity and inclusion have always been very important
to us at SMBC Aviation Capital, " said Gillian Cooney, SMBC
Aviation Capital's head of HR and head of its in-house
careers group with 100% male college graduates, "
Cooney said. " We recognized that this was not
representative of society, and we actively started
measuring and seeking a more diverse pool of
applicants. Our apprenticeship program, where people
can study while working with us, has opened a whole
new talent pool to the company. We also have return-towork
opportunities for women - talent who may have
taken a break from the workplace to raise their children.
This focus on diversity in our early careers program has
given us a whole new cohort of talent and injected new
ideas and a new energy into our business. "
* Marketing and Outreach: Focused on marketing
efforts to reach women and underrepresented ethnic
groups through its website, marketing materials and
recruitment campaigns.
* Leadership Development and Mentoring:
Actively targeted existing and emerging talent
through leadership development and mentoring
programs. These programs empower women to
pursue senior roles and introduced " Lean-In " groups
to foster mutual support and inspiration among
female employees.
" Bringing talent into the business is only the first
step, " Cooney said. " Retaining and developing that
talent is the real key. "
* WIN TER 2023 * 15
ISTAT Jetrader - Winter 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ISTAT Jetrader - Winter 2023
