"Everyone grows, everyone wins"

Meet Devan Diabate who teaches application specialists and engineers how to use the laboratory diagnostics equipment of Siemens Healthineers. As National Chair of the Siemens Employees of African Descent (SEAD) she also passionately advocates for racial equity.

Devan Diabate is Principal Application Technical Trainer for Siemens Healthineers Laboratory Diagnostics. She’s responsible for developing and delivering application trainings for Application Specialists: “I teach our Application Specialists and Engineers how to use our laboratory diagnostics equipment and instruct them on best demonstrated practices, troubleshooting and installation”, Devan explains. What she enjoys most is working with a very dynamic global team. 

In addition to her job, she passionately advocates for racial equity as National Chair of the Siemens Employees of African Descent (SEAD) group. Her mission is to bring black employees and employees of color together and help them to grow in their careers. She thoroughly enjoys sharing her experience with others.

Devan is grateful that in her life she has always been surrounded by inspiring women. One of them was her foster mom “who helped me to become a strong black woman”. And she was influenced by supportive female mentors: “I’m just so fortunate to be around these women. I think they’ve made me a better employee.” But she’s also aware that not everyone knows how to grow or what’s needed to boost their career. “So I wanted to be able to do that, and especially to help minority groups.” Advice she likes to give everyone along the way is: “Don’t hide your competence. Believe in yourself, ask for what you truly want, and go for it!”

The biggest challenge Devan sees in achieving equity is trust: “I think it’s going to take trust on both sides. For the minority population to believe that they’re genuinely supported, and that the tools they’re given to grow aren’t charity but rather a genuine desire to promote and strengthen the company from within.” She believes that it matters for those who aren’t in a minority to know that there’s plenty of room for everyone and that no one loses when we create an equitable organization. “In fact, everyone grows, everyone wins,” Devan emphasizes.