When we spoke to our company co-founder, Tamara, software and computer engineer with a degree in archeology about getting her thoughts on women in leadership and sharing them in time for International Women’s Day, she very rightly reminded us that “…every day, is a day for equal opportunity, for everyone and a day to inspire inclusion and equality.”

Indeed, we cannot agree with this enough and we wanted to know more about Tamara’s experience as an entrepreneur and leader of a high-technology Small-Medium Enterprise (SME).

What does inspiring inclusion mean to you?

To me, it means fostering an environment where everyone feels valued, empowered and included. Our role, in our company is to create that environment and for me, it means being surrounded by a team which is as diverse as possible, with different backgrounds, ages, genders, upbringings, experiences – you name it. This is the only way we can truly spark creativity and genuine innovation. I have been the only woman in many rooms and I realized that my experience and background brought a completely different vision to the table and I value this every day at Arkeocean. Our role as leaders also means nurturing an environment where everyone can speak up to share their ideas freely so that together we can create and build disruptive solutions for the world of tomorrow.

Who inspired you to become an entrepreneur and to become an engineer?

My father is an engineer and my parents are entrepreneurs, so they definitely inspired and encouraged me. Growing up, I was always interested in inventing, creating and building things. In my time, we didn’t have many examples in the media to inspire young women to go into the sciences, one which stuck with me was Gadget from “Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers”, a female mouse inventor who solved problems in the show – I wanted to be like her. I am very happy to see that today, my daughters and my son can see more diversity on television. Later in life, I was inspired to continue on my entrepreneurial journey by women like Jane Goodall, primatologist and anthropologist who accomplished so many extraordinary feats. Attending one of her lectures and meeting her was a highlight in my journey that I will always remember.

What is your message for the future generations of entrepreneurs?

Do not be afraid to not fit in a mold, to go out on your own, to believe in yourself and your ideas and to learn from others who have different opinions than yours. Explore, invent, create new things, fail and fail again, and learn from that experience.  Above all, your differences are what makes you special. Nurture them and do not let other people define who you are – speak up and share your vision with the world.

If you want to learn more about out International Women’s Day #IWD2024 and #InspireInclusion, check our this website.

Maybe Tamara has inspired you to want to join our diverse team at Arkeocean? Follow us on Linkedin or contact us on contact@arkeocean.com