Sharifah Hani Yasmin

Sharifah Hani Yasmin’s work centres on bridging opportunity gaps and empowering individuals to achieve economic independence and dignified employment. As an SDG 8 advocate and founder of One Step Closer (OSC), she has built a grassroots initiative dedicated to expanding access to work and opportunity for unemployed jobseekers. Since its founding during the pandemic, OSC has mobilised over 40 HR professionals to mentor more than 1,000 individuals through targeted workshops and personalised guidance.

Sharifah’s expertise in inclusive employment has led to collaborations with TalentCorp, Yayasan Peneraju, and Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman, whilst she also serves as a mentor with Girls4Girls Malaysia and supports Lean In Malaysia’s Career Comeback Programme 2024. With a combined following of over 100,000 across LinkedIn and X, she uses her platforms to share insights on upskilling, employability, and the future of work. Her perspectives on transforming Malaysia’s employment landscape have been featured by CNA and The Star.

Her grassroots experience has increasingly positioned her to influence policy at higher levels. In 2024, she became a Women of the South Speak Out (WOSSO) Fellow, a regional initiative that amplifies voices from the Global South to inform policy. Through this platform, she has introduced alternative pathways to employment for B40 communities, particularly stay-at-home mothers seeking to transition into remote work. She was later invited by the United Nations ESCAP to speak on SDG 8 at the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) in Thailand, and most recently represented Malaysia’s civil society at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum in New York in July 2025.

From community mentorship to global advocacy, Sharifah Hani Yasmin continues to champion the belief that everyone deserves access to decent work and the opportunity to build a better future.

Making an impact is an amanah – a sacred trust and shared responsibility carried with purpose. It is about serving with integrity, leading with empathy, and creating opportunities that uplift communities. Real impact happens when inclusive employment opportunities empower people to shape their own futures.