International Women’s Day spotlight: Tuula Ojaluoma encourages women to speak up about their strengths
This International Women’s Day, Parmaco’s Chief Operating Officer, Tuula Ojaluoma, shares her perspective on leadership and why women should never underestimate their own potential. At Parmaco, we are proud to foster an inclusive work environment where opportunities to grow, succeed and lead are not tied to gender, sexual orientation, age, ethnic origin or any other personal characteristic.
As Chief Operating Officer of Parmaco, Tuula Ojaluoma leads nearly 200 professionals – from designers to factory workers – whose expertise is essential to delivering top-of-the-art, dynamic architecture solutions for our customers. These are buildings designed to adapt: scalable up or down, repurposed or relocated as needs evolve.
For Ojaluoma, leadership is about helping people bring out their very best by offering support and direction when it’s needed and trust when it’s not.
“Watching my former boss lead, I realized that when you treat people well, they can achieve amazing things. I was personally ready to fly to the moon to make him successful. But it works the other way around, too: if you don’t treat people with respect or value their work, you can’t expect great results. And leadership isn’t just about encouragement and good vibes. Sometimes you have to make tough decisions to ensure the business succeeds. It’s not all sunshine.”
Leadership benefits from diverse perspectives
Parmaco’s diversity and equity policy is built on a clear principle: every employee should feel a genuine sense of belonging and be encouraged and supported to develop and apply their skills to the fullest.
In Ojaluoma’s view, true balance between genders creates the strongest leadership teams. She believes it’s nothing short of “a prehistoric attitude” to categorically exclude women from leadership roles. This outdated approach has no place in modern business.
“Decisions should always be guided by what’s best for the company – and that requires a range of perspectives. I’m encouraged to see more women stepping into leadership roles, but we’re still not where we need to be, especially in tech. If you want your company to succeed, build diversity into your leadership team. Diverse backgrounds bring new perspectives, and with it, real value for the business.”
When asked what advice she would offer women aspiring to leadership roles, Ojaluoma doesn’t hesitate: take the leap.
“Go for it – and don’t be afraid to speak up about your strengths. Women too often underestimate their abilities, and completely unnecessarily. You have to be willing to take up space if you want to make an impact. And of course, age and experience always give you more tools to lead effectively.”