‘I Love My Job’: ‘Endless Possibilities’ to Define Your Career While Being Supported as a Mom in IT

Welcome to I Love My Job, the series where we hear from women who really love their jobs. In this edition, we sat down with Ariana Tatum, the Executive Director of Global Innovation and Planning Technology at The Estée Lauder Companies Inc (ELC).

Tatum says that her favorite thing about working at ELC is the many different aspects of the company. “It’s a very large organization,” says Tatum, “and I feel like there are endless possibilities through the many avenues you can explore in terms of your career progression. One of the things that ELC does fantastically is try to maintain that growth for each and every individual in a way that works for them.”

This has certainly been true in Tatum’s own career. “I initially started as a consultant, working within the consumer marketing analytics space,” she tells us. Now, this role “has expanded to owning the technical function for our marketing, investment planning, as well as consumer foresight and growth intelligence,” explains Tatum. 

Tatum loves what her job has evolved into. “What I find most exciting about the work I do now is that there's never a straightforward answer,” Tatum shares. In information technology, she emphasizes that the landscape is always changing, and you often must work with others to find creative solutions to challenges without straightforward answers — which makes it a “fresh and exciting” field.

At ELC, Tatum and her fellow employees are also supported by policies that are designed to give employees the flexibility they need to balance both their professional and personal lives. This includes:

• 20 weeks paid parental leave.

• Back-to-work flexibility following the addition of a new family member.

• Back-up Family Care — up to 15 days per dependent per year of in-home or center care for children and in-home care for an adult or elderly loved one. After 15 days, additional back-up care is offered with a nominal co-pay.

• Reimbursement for up to $10,000 of qualified expenses related to the adoption of a child — regardless of an employee's gender, marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity

In the video below, Tatum tells us more about why she loves working at ELC. We also provide lightly edited highlights from the video discussion in the following article.

How would you describe the culture at The Estée Lauder Companies Inc?

I would describe the culture as supportive, which I think is incredibly important as a woman, especially in an industry like Information Technology where there's not always an even gender balance. The support that we're offered comes in many different forms: there's a variety of employee resource groups that you can join, mentorship programs, and many different benefits at Estee Lauder Companies that are geared toward family values and work life-balance. It truly is like you are working for an organization that cares about you as a person.

How does The Estée Lauder Companies Inc support you?

Estee Lauder Companies is one of the best places to work for a supportive work-life balance.

I'm currently expecting my second child, and I can say, without a doubt, that the benefits are very ample and geared toward supporting people that have family and other obligations outside of work… Those benefits empower you to give your best every day and to feel supported— it definitely gives you peace of mind.

What advice would you give women looking to work at The Estée Lauder Companies Inc?

One of the things that I love about working here is there's a really strong women-led community. I'm part of the Women in Technology Circle, and I lead a cohort of women where we all get together on a regular basis to discuss different issues impacting us as women, both professionally and personally. 

So, if you're looking to work at Estee Lauder, don't be shy about networking with others… I think that everybody here is always open and willing to offer advice and support where it's needed.

Fairygodboss is proud to work with The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Find a job there today!

Check out other posts in the ‘I Love My Job’ series:

• ‘I Love My Job’: Making a Difference at ‘One of the Most Inclusive and Thoughtful Companies’

• ‘I Love My Job’: I’m Empowered to Use Design to Innovate, Help Others and Evolve My Company

• ‘I Love My Job’: ‘The Art of Push and Pull’ — A Culture Anchored Around Teamwork and Collaboration

• ‘I Love My Job’: Creating a Culture of Trust, Growing Leadership, and Maintaining Work-Life Harmony

• 'I Love My Job’: Working on Innovative Technologies for ‘One of the Kindest Cultures I've Ever Seen'