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Alumni career: Sophie Sadek [F 2013]
Building a safe environment starts with being curious
Starting a demanding job without a predecessor or a clear job description might seem like a challenge reserved for the adventurous - those who seek a meaningful path toward the future. This perfectly describes Sophie Sadek [F 2013], who, just over a year ago, took on the role of the first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Business Partner at Royal Schiphol Group in Amsterdam.
BY GEOFF MARÉE
Sophie grew up in a small village in Noord-Brabant, in a bicultural family with an Egyptian father and a Dutch mother. Despite experiencing systemic racism, she excelled academically, thanks to her parents’ determination. Initially advised to attend MAVO, she successfully completed Gymnasium. When she applied for her first job as a cashier at the local supermarket, she was hired only when she tried a second time, using her mother’s family name. At the age of fifteen, it was an eye-opener.
When Sophie joined HMSM, she quickly switched from the Dutch to the international stream to explore more different cultures and help international students feel more at home. ‘At HMSM, I liked to help bridge the gap for the international students, invited them to join Amphitryon, supported them in filling out tax forms. We created an international year club, translated the Dutch student songs to English and so on’. Sophie took the opportunity at HMSM to find inspiration in various parts of the world, by going on exchange to the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and to Penn State University as part of the Global Hospitality Management Program. She did her internship as a front office assistant in Malaysia.
From Vibe to Business Partner
These experiences fueled her passion for bridging interpersonal divides, driving her aspirations in her career. All her functions in her career are closely linked to her hospitality background – making people feel welcomed, at home, and safe.
In 2018 she joined Schiphol as a ‘Vibe Manager’. In this role Sophie looked after the wellbeing of the professionals of one of the IT departments. Vibe Manager? ‘Yes, interesting title, isn’t it? Every now and then I called myself the one who was responsible for hanging the balloons and throwing confetti around. But in all seriousness, it is a role that fits in the perspective of holacracy, to offer the employees a working environment with a lot of responsibility and freedom within boundaries. Basically, making sure that everyone could perform well. That meant that if I allowed one employee to take a leave of absence related to a family event, I should also grant that in a similar situation to another colleague. You know, something I firmly believe in; what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Equality and equity have always been important parts of my upbringing.’
The DEI Business Partner role opened up in 2023 and was created by the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Board. This Board was formed in 2019 and comprises six minority representative leads. These six leads are granted four hours per week to create a more inclusive company, but they believed that a full-time role was necessary to achieve Schiphol’s DEI objectives. When the opportunity presented itself, Sophie jumped at it and now holds this position.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Schiphol
Diversity in an airport-based organization can almost be considered inevitable, as Schiphol inherently functions as the gateway to the rest of the world. ‘Connecting your world is the base of our company’s existence. Therefore, DEI is everywhere. We kindly use Cynthia Olmedo’s quotes for diversity, inclusion and equity to illustrate our goals. “Diversity is being invited to the dance. Inclusion is being asked to dance. Equity is allowing you to choose the music”.’ Sophie focuses on the long-term DEI goals for Schiphol, while also organizing awareness events and activities across the company.
‘When Pride Week took place, we handed out our key-cords with the Progress flag. And during Ramadan, we handed out dates, as they are often used to break fasting, with a little ‘Ramadan Kareem’ card with an encouraging message was added. For both these examples we use the ‘and-and’ principle; we offer neutral blue key cords and Progress key cords as options. Weather you celebrate Ramadan or you don’t, dates are a good source of energy for your (work) day ahead. I personally handed both these gifts out, as I was also curious how the colleagues would react. And used the feedback to enrich the policy that we will roll out in the near future.’
Plenty of challenges ahead
‘My role focusses on the Royal Schiphol Group employees, about 4000 in total, across all levels of the organization. Looking at the policies of our company, as a semi-government organization, we are bound by certain laws and regulations. On the one hand we have to abide by the SER
(Sociaal Economische Raad) norm for gender equity for our C-level positions. On the other hand, by the end of this year, we have to abide by the CSRD guidelines for our annual report.’ For Sophie that’s only just the start, because beyond gender, other diversity aspects should be considered. And these considerations not only relate to improving diversity. When relating to age, for example, it makes sense to balance jobs over generations. Sharing tacit knowledge between veterans and newbies is crucial to maintain consistency in the operations of the organization. Despite the focus on the Schiphol employees, Sophie’s ambitions go well beyond. ‘But of course, since Schiphol is very much a facilitating institute, it doesn’t mean that we cannot positively influence other parties. From that perspective, I am involved in the reviewing of a plan of requirements for new tenders. But to be honest, in this job I am still searching for broader opportunities. How can we influence the organisation and all connected parties towards a safe environment for all who work at Schiphol? That will very much be a long-term activity but starts with the continuous curious question ‘why are things the way they are’. Let’s call it a ten-year plan’ Sophie laughs. At this point in time, she is proud of the established vision, ‘being yourself takes you further’. ‘And for the very near future; I am very proud of a recently developed training plan consisting of ten workshops, that is ready to be offered to around a thousand colleagues.’
Horizons Track
This track offers students a unique opportunity to explore how hospitality principles create added value across various sectors, including Retail, Events, Financial Services, Healthcare, Staffing & Recruitment, and Transport. In the Horizons in Hospitality minor, students analyze and define the “Why, How, and What” to enhance hospitality in organizational practices, focusing on areas like guest and employee journeys. Meanwhile, the new Leading People and Culture in a Changing World minor provides an in-depth, co-creative approach to understanding People, Culture, and Leadership, emphasizing hospitality, technology, diversity, and sustainability.
If you’re in more about the Horizons Track, collaborating, or engaging students, reach out Emily Teunissen, track coordinator, emily.teunissen@zuyd.nl.
DEI at Royal Schiphol Group
In 2018, Royal Schiphol Group started the process of creating a policy on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The DEI Board was established in 2019. There are a number of dimensions that roll out activities in collaboration with the DEI board. Currently there are 6 dimensions, namely: VisAble, Bicultural, 50-up!, LGBTQIA+, Women on Air and Schiphol Youth [careers.Schipholgroup.com]
