Marianne is a prime example of the incredible passion and skill that TAP mentors possess. 

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With a diverse background that includes logistics and the culture industry, she now works for a company that utilizes an AI-powered platform with built-in personalization to help companies achieve their revenue goals. She facilitates the use of the tool, develops sales strategies, and ensures successful account management. That is why when we say that our TAP students are mentored by the best, it truly is backed up by their skills, experience, and passion. 

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In her early 20s, Marianne attended a tech conference, called Africarena, where big corporations presented the problems they were facing and start-ups pitched ideas for solving these problems. This ignited Marianne’s curiosity about the tech industry and the start-up world, and its ability to drive innovation, solve problems, make a profit, all the while being centred around social impact.  

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“I search for meaning in what I do on an everyday basis. The first line of code ever written was done by a woman, and yet girls entering the field have so few role models. There is a far smaller percentage of women engineers in companies, and when there are women in the field, it’s often in supporting departments rather than in backend engineering where the most money is. This exacerbates lots of other issues like pay differentials. So, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to combine the remote lifestyle with volunteering in various women-in-tech communities. That’s when I came across TAP.”

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According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the unemployment rate of new graduates (within the age bracket of 20 to 29 years) stands at 40% for the engineering field, with 30.4% for males and 70.4% for females. The PCBS also highlights that the unemployment rate in the information technology field for new graduates sits at 60%, where it is broken down into 53.6% for males and 69.5% for females. 

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“The unemployment rate in Palestine for new graduates in the tech field is a desperate situation and points to the fact that university curriculums are not aligning with market requirements. When I came across TAP, I recognized immediately that they were bridging this educational and skills gap. I then had some meetings with the TAP team, and I was so impressed by how the programs are geared towards practical learning. On top of that, the people behind TAP are so thoughtful and invested in their mission that I knew I had to support that.”

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With a flexible mentoring schedule of only one or two hours a week, Marianne has joined a network of professionals in the tech field and the B-Corp space, and is sharing her knowledge, expertise, and pearls of wisdom to help mentees hone their skills and find jobs. 

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“Introspection is imperative. The best career advice I’ve received is that you need to find out who you are, what you stand for, and what values you want to represent. Only once you know what is important to you, will you be able to assess whether a company you are applying to is a good culture fit.” 

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TAP’s mentor community is growing and we are thrilled that our mission is drawing in  passionate, talented, skilled and experienced professionals like Marianne who is adding immense value to the career journeys of our TAPers .

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