Today we have a very special Employee Spotlight 
!
Our colleagues, the women of NAVBLUE, play a pivotal role at our company. Discover the journey of Radha Iyer (VP Global Programmes) , Malwina Czubak (Senior Production Manager), Marie Gaumeton (Sales Director), Emmy Jacobson (Sales Director), Bianca Marigomen (Software Engineering Manager) and Anna Prusinowska (Software Developer), and how they always Inspire Inclusion in -and out of- the workplace.
– What has been the most significant barrier in your career? How did you overcome this barrier?
Emmy Jacobson: The good old boys club. Even though I don’t have apprehensions about it, it is prevalent. There’s been many times in my +25 year career in aviation where I haven’t been invited to dinners, events, meetings, whether consciously or unconsciously where/were my male counterparts have, and even though i can contribute like this, there are still some limiting factors where i have not been included because that group has existed. I’ve seen a lot of progress since the beginning of my career but I do believe we still have a lot to overcome; and I think it will still be prevalent during the rest of my career despite the conscious efforts we are making.
In order to overcome that barrier, the good old boys, is to be myself. Nothing makes me feel better and more confident than me being myself when I show up. I also have learnt to be really persistent, throughout my career, I just don’t accept “no”. At the same time, something that had helped me to overcome this is my network of trusting people, both men a women, an amazing group of aviation and technology professionals that built this network, and I have to add that some of my bigger advocates have been my customers.
Find an advocate. An advocate is different from a mentor, it is someone that can represent you when you are not in the room. And then, never stop learning. The more we know, the more we can overcome and eventually break that old good boys club.
– In your opinion, why is diversity, equity and inclusion important in workplaces?
Malwina Czubak: Creating diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces is essential because it makes employees feel valued and respected. When people from different backgrounds come together, they bring unique perspectives that foster innovation and better decision-making. Employees are happier and more engaged, and companies become more attractive to top talent. Moreover, embracing diversity and inclusion will allow Navblue to show they care about fairness and social responsibility, ultimately enhancing their reputation and impact on society.
– Who are the women that have inspired you in your journey, and how have they influenced your path?
Marie Gaumeton: My grandmother. She was very passionate, full of energy at all times. She was really into business! I remember being a child following her while she was running different business, managing every front, and always with a smile. She really inspired my professional career; Always saying that “hard work is good for your health”, tecahing us that” no pain, no gain”.
Bianca Marigomen: Obviously, growing up it was my mom and my teachers; I was lucky that most of my math and science teachers were women, and that helped influence me to follow a path into engineering. Also, I was fortunate that my first mentor in my professional journey was a woman developer who, to this day, is one of the smartest persons I’ve ever met. More recenly, I have three close girlfriends that I attended engineering school with that inspire me daily. Unfortunately, they all do not have access to women mentors at their workplace, so instead we get together to talk about things like our performance reviews, salary negotiations, or interviews. We coach each other on how to navigate being a woman in the workplace, how to speak-up, and we often give each other advice on how to handle certain workplace situations. What I’ve learned is that even if you don’t have a woman mentor at your workplace, you can always find a mentor elsewhere in your life that can guide you on your path. They don’t have to be in the same field as you, but it is important to have that support system of women.
– What in your opinion would be the most important conscious effort companies should make to promote women at all levels of a workforce?
Radha Iyer: Simple steps would be great in level plain fields, and should be a requisite for inclusive workplaces. Taking an objective approach to talent management based on employee skills and experiences, ensuring internal mobility. You can also ensure that mobility is achieved by competencies and ambitions rather than subjective factors.
The second thing we should pay attention to, in my opinion, is to mitigate bias. It is impossible to remove entirely bias from an equation, but we need to go an extra mile to minimize it. Leaders in companies should understand that bias plays a role in hiring and in promotion decisions, so they should put the right systems and tools in place, to prevent bias from taking over.
The last one is to prioritize access to mentorship. It’s a powerful initiative that can help employees expand networks and to develop skills sets.
– How do you inspire inclusion?
Anna Prusinowska: It’s best to inspire and show by example. And the best examples are us. Women who have achieved something, who have shown that you can reach higher, for more.
Personally, I was once inspired by the professional story of a woman and I thought that if she succeeded, why shouldn’t I try it too. This is how I retrained from a philologist to a developer, proving to others and myself that the sky’s the limit.
Interested in joining NAVBLUE?
