Women in IT: What motivated our smart female colleagues to work in IT?

Author: Zuzana Kocáková

Career

15 reading minutes

Women in IT are in demand and their interest in working in this field is growing. We asked our female colleagues at msg life Slovakia how they like working in a predominantly male team. The stereotype that IT is only for men has long been disproved. Women are a common part of the IT sphere, but unfortunately there are still not enough of them. Consistency, attentiveness and the ability to multitask is their great asset. Here at msg life Slovakia we can only confirm this. Despite the fact that the first programmers were women, today they have to fight for status and acceptance in this segment. We interviewed a few of our female colleagues to find out how they feel about working in IT.

Statistically, we have seen a thirty-fold increase in the number of female colleagues in msg life Slovakia from 2005 to 2020. In 2005, we employed two women, in 2020 there were 59, and since the beginning of 2021, five more colleagues have joined us. We are pleased that the representation of women in our company is growing. They are not afraid of the IT sector, on the contrary, they see it as a career opportunity that allows them to make the most of their skills.

In addition to the increase in the number of new female colleagues, we have also seen an increase in the number of CVs sent to us by women. While in January 2020 we had only 11 female applicants, in January 2021 there were 44 of them. Female graduates and women looking for a career change are equally interested in working in this sector. We hope the numbers will continue to grow.

What do our female colleagues say about working at msg life Slovakia?

The fair sex is always welcome in our society. Ou female colleagues handle even the most demanding tasks with ease and each of them contributes to the team’s success. We asked them about what led them to this work, how they like working in a team and in a field that many consider to be an exclusively male domain.

Miska, Software Testing Consultant, Bratislava

Miska joined us in September last year. Nothing is a coincidence, came to her mind, when an offer for a Business Consultant / Tester job literally jumped out at her on LinkedIn. “My unquenchable curiosity about information technology led me to work in IT. I’ve been into it since I was a kid, and I’ve also been into various computer games. I spent my spare time on the computer and I was able to solve all the PC problems by myself.”

In her own words, Miška is great to work in a predominantly male team. “My fellow ‘i-teammates’ are ‘cool’, they have a sense of humour.” In what ways does she think women are better at IT than men? “It’s hardto say, each of us has an original character and approach, each of us is unique.” They all contribute in a unique way to the whole we are creating here together , she says. She adds: “It’s good to feel the feminine energy in IT from time to time.” Women approach their work with more feeling and emotion, which is not common in this field.

Lydia, Software Testing Consultant, Kosice

Lydia has been working at msg life Slovakia for almost 13 years. She is the first woman of our Kosice branch. Although she did finance studies, she did not find enough suitable job opportunities in her city in this field. The IT sphere was gaining momentum in Kosice at that time and we are glad that Lydia joined us. She was also motivated to work in this field by the financial reward.

For many years she was kept company in the office mainly by men, but since last year our Kosice branch on Werferova street is welcoming two new female colleagues. “I work well with men, they are very helpful and friendly, they are cool and generally less confrontational. However, my new female colleagues are equally great and I am happy that they have enriched our predominantly male team.” Lydia thinks that women are rigorous and precise, which is why they thrive in IT. “They also have better communication skills,” she adds.

Zuzka, Software Testing Consultant, Zilina

Zuzka enriched our Žilina team at the end of 2019. Growing up with her brother and cousin, she didn’t have too many opportunities for classic girl games, which led her to computers. With a smile, she adds that she inherited her tester genes from her grandmother, who managed to “test” every electronic device, be it a mobile phone or a vacuum cleaner. “She would alwayscall me afterwards to find out what it was again.”

After a very stressful work experience in logistics, it was time for a change. Her strong analytical and logical skills attracted the attention of the recruitment agency, which approached Zuzka with a job offer. “They told me that the job as a tester was tailor-made for me, given my skills.” She says she finds the work challenging but enjoys it. “I’m proud to be working in IT.”

The branch in Zilina is still young, but it is slowly growing. There are currently 11 employees, three of whom are women. How does Zuzka rate working with her colleagues? “I have great colleagues. I would even say unconventional. They are smart, helpful and I can make them talk. Sometimes they are even too talkative! And are we women in IT better at anything than men in IT? I don’t know, I think my male and female colleagues complement each other perfectly.”

Kristina, Software Testing Consultant, Bratislava

Kristina has been with us for almost two and a half years. After a long time in her previous job, the time came when she needed a change of scenery. She worked in sales and her job was challenging. She felt that the only way to prevent burnout was a complete change of job and field.

So she moved straight into IT, even though it was all Greek to her. “…It’s all Greek to me partly until now. I’m learning every day, but I definitely don’t regret my decision to jump straight into something new and unfamiliar. I am very happy, actually.”

She is the only woman on her team. She admits that at first she had fears that turned out to be unfounded. She says her male colleagues are always willing to help and their technical skills, not only in terms of work, are a great advantage. “I can ask them anything, they’re always here for me.” Kristina is of the opinion that it doesn’t matter at all whether someone is a man or a woman. Anyone can practice any profession according to her.

Gabika, Business Consultant, Bratislava

Coincidence also intertwined into Gabika’s professional life. She was studying international financial management in German and, according to her, she never dreamed of working in IT. “I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but my idea was some kind of economics major. And I wanted to use the German language. Fresh out of school I got a good reference at msg life and since the emphasis was on the German language and logical thinking, I thought I’d give it a try. And I’ve never regretted it,” she says.

Gabika enjoys her work at msg life, which she believes is also due to her good team. “In my five years with the company, I have never had a situation where we did not agree on an acceptable solution for all parties, or where a colleague did not help me when I needed help. And there’s always a lot of fun at after-work events,” she adds.

Gabika sees the main advantage of women in IT in the fact that they are characterized by their perceptiveness, empathy and communicative skills, which can be an advantage when dealing with a client or solving tasks in a team. “Women approach tasks more conscientiously and solve them with more precision, but I wouldn’t categorize by gender who is better at what. I think a lot of things depend on a person’s nature rather than their gender,” she says.

Ada, Business Consultant / Tester, Bratislava

“The need to try something different, new. Start from scratch, so to speak.” This is how Ada, who previously worked as a financial analyst, describes her beginnings in her IT career. Like Gabika, Ada got into IT by chance. “A friend of my friend worked here and said they were looking for new people. However, I have been attracted to this area for a long time. IT always sounded so interesting and cool to me, with a touch of the unknown,” she explains.

Ada also likes the team. “My male colleagues are very nice and gallant. Female colleagues are friendly and easy-going,” says our smart business consultant about the working atmosphere. And what is the difference between men and women in IT? According to her, the fair sex has a greater sense of detail and empathy in the IT world.

Lucka, Tester/Consultant, Bratislava

“I imagined myself somewhere in the marketing department or in PR. I didn’t imagine that I would be someone who tests software. At that moment I had no idea how wide the IT sphere is and how much it covers,” says Lucka of her IT career.

She was led to the post of tester/consultant by chance and an interesting job offer. She was soon convinced that it was a good decision. The main advantage she sees is the gender balance in the team. “We have the opportunity to talk about different topics and it’s interesting to see a man and a woman’s perspective on the same problem,” says Lucka.

Still, she doesn’t think either gender is better at IT. “We all have certain skills, experience, different mindsets and therefore we can approach things from different perspectives, but we always get to the end result,” she adds.

Barbora, Software Consultant, Bratislava

Barbora was approached by a recruitment agency when she was still working as an actuary. “An offer came to go over to the side where they develop software for insurance companies. I was intrigued, I thought I’d give it a try.” It has been almost 5 years since then and she has no reservations about working in our team. “I love this job. I previously worked in a predominantly female team and I prefer the one I work with today. It’s fun with my male colleagues, they’re not all flannel shirts with greasy hair as many people think.” In her opinion, we are all different and when there is a great team, it is a pleasure to work with it.

The satisfaction of our female colleagues confirms that women have a firm place and open doors in msg life Slovakia. We are always looking for new female colleagues to join our offices in Bratislava, Zilina and Kosice. See latest job offers, join us and help break down outdated stereotypes about women in IT.

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Women in IT: What motivated our smart female colleagues to work in IT?

Zuzana Kocáková

At msg life Slovakia I take care of the company culture, events and I am part of the marketing team. I like a job where I can be creative and contribute to making my colleagues at msg feel good. I regularly prepare for you not only news and interesting things from the world of information technology and insurance, but also from behind the scenes events at msg life Slovakia.