Building an inclusive future: Committed to diversity, equity and inclusion at TomTom

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are important building blocks for a healthy culture and organization at TomTom. Our efforts have never been about ticking boxes, but a deep-seated belief that our differences make us stronger. We recognize that our work is never done, and take pride in our commitment to fostering an environment where every TomTom’er can connect, belong and make an impact. 

Keeping the world moving, together

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"While the world and our business have changed, one thing that was a founding principle and remains at our core, is our belief that it takes the world to map the world. Our people, with diverse and different perspectives, make our innovation possible. We will always be committed to creating a culture where everyone at TomTom can thrive.”    

Harold Goddijn

CEO and Co-Founder of TomTom

For this reason, we remain committed to creating an environment that gives back to our people and the communities we serve – where every voice is valued, and every individual has the chance to contribute to shaping our future.  

Diversity is at the heart of TomTom

We’re proud to have 3,600 unique TomTom’ers spread around the world, representing more than 80 nationalities. We’re always finding ways to help our people feel like they belong and make their unique impact, from our Inclusion Advocates Network to supporting employee resource groups. 

Arne-Christian van der Tang, Chief Human Resources Officer and TomTom's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, discusses his personal involvement:

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“It’s been special to see our community groups within TomTom grow. From Women@TomTom, to Neurodiverse TomTom’ers, Black TomTom’ers, Abled and Disabled Advocates Partnering Together (ADAPT) and more, our people are at the forefront of representation, highlighting issues that are important to them and driving the discourse on diversity in our business. Rainbow Road, a group for our LGBTQIA+ community and allies, is one that resonates personally with me, and as the executive sponsor, I’m excited to be a voice, a champion and a mentor for the community.” 

Arne-Christian van der Tang

Chief Human Resources Officer and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at TomTom

Moving the dial for women in tech

It starts at TomTom. We’re committed to achieving 30% female representation companywide and 20% in senior management positions in 2025. As we shift the scale, women across TomTom are making a big impact – from enabling collaborative mapmaking to empowering innovation.  

Our sponsorship program, which pairs junior women with senior TomTom leaders to accelerate their career growth, is one way we are creating change. Another is getting involved in external events like European Women in Tech, where we’re able to meet, inspire and share knowledge with a growing community of women.  

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“Taking part in events like European Women in Tech gives me the opportunity to share my story and to demonstrate that diversity and inclusion in tech is a reality, not an aspiration. My key recommendation is to stay curious, continue to learn and to drive innovation. And I’m proud to be able to stand there and say that TomTom gives people these opportunities and creates an environment where we coach and mentor each other, promote diverse perspectives and celebrate learning and growth.”  

Manuela Locarno Ajayi

SVP Product Engineering at TomTom

Doing more, moving forward

There is always more to do. Achieving a better gender balance in tech is not easy, and it can be hard to find the best way forward. Making progress requires us to continually learn and adapt. One way we’ve recently done this is by conducting a thorough assessment of our culture, opportunities and challenges, so we can better understand where our strengths lie and what we need to overcome to meet our goals.  

From these learnings, we will strengthen our sponsorship program, create more space for conversations and awareness on diversity, increase training around unconscious bias and cultural nuances, and drive internal mobility. These actions, and many more, will help us make a larger, more immediate impact for women in leadership positions. 

Next to that, we’re excited to celebrate International Women’s Day with a host of initiatives – like sponsoring the Equals Role Model campaign, which gives us a great opportunity to spotlight successful women in tech to show other girls and women what they could become. This year, we’ll also celebrate female leaders at TomTom and host internal panel discussions and networking sessions across the world. These actions are not a one-off, but part of our year-round efforts.  

Making a difference in our communities

Katalyst India is an NGO that prepares young women from unprivileged backgrounds for leadership roles in the STEM field. Through our partnership, we fund scholarships for women to support their engineering careers and volunteer to inspire more women from Katalyst to pursue opportunities in tech.  

Codam is a free coding school on a mission to provide software engineering education to under-represented communities. By working together, we’re able to connect with their diverse students and give them opportunities for professional experience at TomTom. With our Codam Fellows program, we also provide guidance and mentorship to Codam students. 

Coming together for a more inclusive future