Strength in numbers: TomTom at European Women in Tech and the power of knowledge-sharing
)

So often the discourse around women in tech is how we can support women to succeed in their careers. But why not the other way round too? During my recent visit to European Women in Tech, I spoke to attendees about their ambitions, what support works for them in their careers and how they’ve been inspired to share their knowledge.
To develop revolutionary technology like TomTom Orbis Maps, you need the very best engineers. An event like European Women in Tech gives you the chance to meet many.
While it's primarily a career event, I was predominantly struck by how often the conversation turned to enablement. Recruiters and company representatives were sharing career opportunities for women to grow and excel. I also saw and heard lots of encouragement for women in tech to seek support. However, the most exciting thing was hearing women being empowered to be leaders in their areas of expertise and strengthen others through their knowledge. This was the focus of Manuela Locarno Ajayi’s, TomTom’s Senior Vice President of Product Engineering, speech and it clearly hit a nerve. When I spoke to attendees, we talked about ways that the status quo can change, and how the reigns of this change can be taken by women through displays of leadership.What were people saying?
First and foremost, the atmosphere was overwhelmingly positive. Many attendees saw the plethora of possibilities in the tech industry just from the variety of companies at the show, each with their hands in AI, geolocation technology, finance and more. Marije Bakker, Commercial Product Manager for business consulting and services company Dynamic People B.V., mentioned how she sees herself going fully independent, “developing a crazy IP, developing apps and making an impact through those applications.” Daria Tobys, Service Delivery Manager for To-Increase, shared her passion for AI: “There’s so much potential there, particularly around healthcare. For me, we need to take advantage of that.” Unfortunately, whether our society wants to accept it or not, there are still barriers in the way of women who want to grow into new areas. Marije adds, “I do think it’s difficult to reach top positions.” Now, there are ways that allies can help address the inequality. Brooke, Product Manager for cryptocurrency platform Kraken, added, “There are things people can do. Listening to women, not interrupting when they speak and sharing their knowledge with women.”Sharing is caring… and a sign of strength
There are plenty of examples of allies passing on experience and know-how to women in the workplace. Marije referred to a team meeting that takes place every Friday at Dynamic People B.V.: “my team takes time aside to share info, give presentations and simply have a conversation about the things we’re doing to spread the word and boost one another.”TomTom has its own version of this – the Sponsorship Program. Rather than simply speaking on behalf of women to get them to the right place, this program is all about giving women’s voices, through a sponsor’s support, the added clarity to reach the right ears and improve chances of growing or switching career trajectories within the company.
However, Manuela spoke at European Women in Tech to suggest an inverted scenario as well: what if women were the ones spreading their knowledge, making themselves the leaders in the room at what they know, irrespective of job title?
What’s next?
I felt refreshed and glad that it’s not only job opportunities that attendees will take away. No matter the role, there’s power in knowledge. Hopefully, with Manuela’s encouragement, her audience now feels capable of taking the lead and growing even further within the industry. Whether you visited our booth, or simply want to multiply your skills and expertise in a place where this behavior is credited and rewarded, take a look at our careers page. Be a voice that helps define map products and technology that will change the future of so many industries.Share your knowledge. Apply at TomTom today.
* Required field. By submitting your contact details to TomTom, you agree that we can contact you about marketing offers, newsletters, or to invite you to webinars and events. We could further personalize the content that you receive via cookies. You can unsubscribe at any time by the link included in our emails. Review our privacy policy.