Dina Blom Women@Work

At TOPIC we work on innovative, high-tech solutions to make the world a little better, smarter, and healthier every day.  We are fortunate to have 30 smart and talented women within our company contributing to the most innovative developments. They come from diverse cultures and backgrounds and hold various leading tech, management, and office positions, bringing a vibrant dynamic and a good balance to the teams.

In the series Women@Work we highlight some of our female colleagues, focusing on their expertise, vision, and the unique advantages they bring as women. With international women’s day coming up we asked Dina Blom, HR manager, to kick of the series. Sharing more about the importance of fostering an inclusive culture, having more women joining us, and how we support them in their work.

Dina Blom | HR Manager at TOPIC

On March 8, international women’s Day is coming up. Why is it important that at TOPIC we pay attention to this?

Celebrating International Women's Day (IWD) is important because it aligns with our commitment to an inclusive and diverse company culture. We want to ensure that everyone within TOPIC feels at home and has equal opportunities, with the right person on the job based on their expertise, not quotas. So a few years back we introduced IWD as a perfect moment to celebrate all the smart and talented women working at our company. As this is a great diverse group of women!

How does TOPIC foster an inclusive and supportive culture for women?

We strive to stay well connected with the women in our organization by understanding their concerns, discussing important topics, and offering our support. We do this individually and by facilitating an environment to meet and interact with each other. This is especially important since many of our women are working in different teams and don’t interact daily.

I think that it also helps that we have a significant number of women in leading and management roles, which makes it more accessible to address more sensitive issues when needed.

Are there any specific initiatives set up within TOPIC for women?

We host biannual Women’s lunches, offering an informal setting to meet, learn, and discuss topics that matter to them. These gatherings have sparked some wonderful initiatives, such as hosting a "Girlsday" at our office to introduce girls aged 10 to 15 to beta, technology, and IT, and the idea for creating a workshop focused on promoting a healthy work/life balance. 

Providing a platform for them to share their knowledge and expertise with others is incredibly valuable and one of the key reasons we started this series Women@Work. While we are making great progress, there is also still much to gain and to learn from the initiatives of other companies. So we are evolving our initiatives step by step!

What makes it so challenging to find new talented women in tech?

In the Netherlands, women in tech remain underrepresented, with only 19% of tech jobs held by women (in 2023). This is also reflected in our team, where we have just one Dutch female engineer, while the others joined us from abroad. It's encouraging to see a more balanced representation in countries like for example Tunisia. Therefore, it's crucial to continue inspiring and motivating more young girls in the Netherlands to pursue careers in tech.

When I recently asked one of our female engineers what advice she would give other girls aspiring a career in tech I got this answer:

“Don't be afraid to choose what you want to do. And don't let the scarcity of women in this scenario scare you. We are capable of everything that we put our minds to, and we give each other strength to continue. Day by day, there will be more of us. Don't be afraid to code like a woman.”

So I think this is a great message to all the girls and women out there!