International Women's Day at Tatari

With yesterday being International Women’s Day, we want to take a moment to thank and celebrate the amazing group of women at Tatari who make invaluable contributions to our business and culture on a daily basis. 

Tatari is a data and analytics company at heart, meaning all of the positions within our company require technical skills. It’s well-known that being a woman in a technical field has its challenges and we’re really proud of the women at Tatari who continue to break barriers and pave the way for future women in tech.

One of the early employees on the Data Science team, Thuy-Van, had previously hosted women in tech groups and created a private Slack channel called “Ladies of Tatari,” which includes all of the women in the company. We asked her to share why she created “Ladies of Tatari” and the value she sees in women’s groups?

“We’re fortunate to be in a company that fosters a diverse culture. I’ve learned that women are oftentimes our own biggest hurdle, so creating Ladies of Tatari was a way for us to support each other, educate one another, and also grow stronger together. Prior to coming to Tatari, diversity and culture was a #1 requirement. One and half years later, I still feel I made the right choice with Tatari.”

- Thuy-Van, Data Engineer

We’re proud to say that with the growth of Tatari, “Ladies of Tatari” has blossomed from just a Slack channel into regular lunches and events. Jen Arao, in our SF office, shares why she enjoys having scheduled lunches with the women in the office. 

“It’s great getting out of the office with all the ladies. Since we all work in different departments, we’re able to share experiences both in and outside of work. I love being able to converse with such wonderful and empowering women.”

- Jen Arao, A/P Specialist

Most recently, during Tatari’s year-end event, our CEO invited Nicole Farb to speak on the topic of how to propel your career to receive the promotion (and compensation!) you have earned. This talk prompted great discussion so we asked a couple of women what some of their favorite takeaways were?

“It was extremely rewarding to learn first-hand how Nicole developed tactics to help her succeed in her career. These were some of my favorite takeaways:

• Set regular 1:1s with your manager so there is dedicated time for you

• Come prepared to these meetings and send your agenda the day before so your manager can also come prepared 

• Align your agenda with goals that you’ve set, so it paints a clear picture of your progress.”

- Muller Luo, VP of Operations

“I’ve had a lot of strong female mentors growing up from my mom, to my 3 sisters, to women in the workforce who have supported and encouraged me. When Nicole came to speak, she said something that I’ve heard many times before; women tend to make everyone else more comfortable before focusing on themselves. We need to stand up and ask for what we want and be honest and fearless. It’s harder to put into action, but with strong mentorship and support, women are rising in leadership positions. Having someone like Nicole come in and speak to the ladies of Tatari was really impactful. It showed us regardless of whether you are fresh out of college or coming from many years of experience, we have all gone through similar situations. My biggest takeaway from her talk is don’t assume someone else knows what you want. You are in charge of your career and should stand up and take charge to get there as well. Make a game plan, put it into action, and have check-ins to ensure you are getting there.”

- Preethi Nellakanti, Senior Media Buyer

In addition to “Ladies of Tatari” events, we also plan company-wide events focused on diversity. Erica Simunovic, Tatari’s HR Manager, shares the event she’s planned and is most excited for. 

“Volunteer events are very important to me. Not only because we can make a difference in the community, but also because these events impact our employees. They feel good about themselves, they have more information on underrepresented groups in their community, and it starts conversations on how we can continue to help. I’m very, very excited about our upcoming volunteer event with Codetalk, a digital web technology job training program for low income, underemployed and underserved women. A respectful and collaborative environment is what I was seeking prior to Tatari and I’m excited to show them it exists.”

- Erica Simunovic, HR Manager

Janina Mejia works on our Engineering team and had a significant impact on some recent improvements to our streaming dashboard, which is essential to Tatari’s business and customers. We asked her what advice she has for other women who want to pursue tech?

"There is still a gender imbalance in the tech industry, but a lot of progress has been made in terms of inclusivity. There are times where it’s easy to feel intimidated being the minority in the classroom and even in the workplace.  It’s okay to feel this way, but work hard and believe in your skills. As an engineering team, one of our main jobs is to solve problems. Having a diversity of talent and points of view really helps get this done.”

- Janina Mejia, Software Engineer

At Tatari, we’re thankful to have a team of people from a variety of backgrounds who bring unique perspectives and diverse ideas to our business. If you’re interested in joining our team, be sure to check out our open positions.