March 8th is International Women’s Day, something that we’re very excited about over here at Hotovo. And in fact, we’re not limiting the celebration to just one day – we’re going to celebrate Women’s Month! 

Why? Because it gives us a great opportunity to highlight the continued lack of female representation in our traditionally male-dominated tech industry – within software development in particular – and to shout about why this needs to change. 

So this month at Hotovo, we’re going to celebrate Women’s Month by highlighting and celebrating the women who ARE making an impact – giving them a platform to share their experiences and advice with those who are eager to join the software industry.

So listen up.

Introducing the Women of Hotovo RS – Serbia

As one of Hotovo’s newer branches, here in Serbia we’re still a small team of just seven people. And of those seven, we (currently!) have just the one woman in the team – the wonderful Olga. 

Women have played an increasingly significant role in the software development field in recent years. Despite facing some challenges in a historically male-dominated industry, women have made significant contributions to the field and have helped to shape the development of software in many ways. So we are really pleased to have Olga as part of our Hotovo RS family. 

Breaking Stereotypes

Besides her strong personality and excellent professional skills, Olga is helping us to break down stereotypes in the industry. There is a common misconception that software development is a field that is only suited to men, but the women such as Olga who are excelling in this field are proving this isn’t the case, and that women are just as skilled and successful in software development as men.

Starting a career in tech as a woman can be daunting. But regardless of the challenges, it’s clear that perseverance and determination is key to a successful career, especially in software engineering.

Ultimately, you have to find an area of software that you’re passionate about. You don’t have to already be a rockstar coder to land a job in software – as with any job, you only need some basic skills to start with, a willingness to learn and a commitment to work hard, and you could be on your way to greatness. It’s about doing what makes you happy and finding the right company to work for, where you can constantly develop and show off your awesome skills, and Hotovo is definitely a great choice.

Collaboration and Teamwork

Team vibe and team spirit is very important for success within IT companies – and Olga has been an integral part of promoting collaboration, teamwork and spirit within the branch. Her strong communication skills mean she excels at working with others, which has helped to create a more collaborative and supportive environment – which in turn leads to better software development.

Meet Olga

How would you describe what you do?

My official role is Software Engineer, and that can mean a lot of things – it’s coding, collaboration, meeting with clients, team management, and of course it’s constant learning!

I recently joined the Hotovo RS team and will be working on our Salesforce/MuleSoft project. From the outset the team accepted me with arms wide open, which made me feel very welcomed and excited for my new role. The project recently grew in scope so I’m particularly looking forward to help break ground in that area – facing new challenges together is always a great team-bonding element.

How did you find the journey of starting out in a traditionally male-dominated industry?

Truthfully, I haven’t thought about that for some time now. I found a job shortly after completing my master’s thesis and haven’t looked back!

Looking back, working in a male-dominated industry, I have been pretty blessed in my work history. My siblings and I were raised by a single mom, and that really etched the idea of being a strong independent woman (Hi Mom!) into our minds from a young age. That’s not to say that, like most women, I haven’t faced my fair share of issues, but for the most part I’ve worked with wonderful colleagues and employers!

How did you find your way to this role?

Well I always preferred hard sciences (math and physics mostly) so that led me to the ElectroTechnical University. 

As for software development, that’s actually a funny story. 

My first job was as a hardware engineer at a thermal power plant (picture ‘lil ole me, helmet, safety gear and all on, in a windowless, dirty power plant). Occasionally, some programmers stopped by to update our software and code on the spot – which I thought was amazing! So on my long trips to and from work, I took a page out of the new gen’s book and started listening to a Java podcast! When I got home, I’d try to code what I’d listened to that day. I remember being so happy when I got my first Hello World program running. 

So it wasn’t always as fancy as it is today. But as Master Yoda says: “Patience you must have, young padawan.” 🙂

What do you like about working in software?

I thrive for the ability to constantly develop – sometimes it’s in regard to my coding expertise, sometimes it’s developing communication or managerial skills, and sometimes it’s just good old team bonding.

Everyone knows the stereotype, we’ve got our headphones on, socially unaware, glued to our computers, but people and community are the backbone of a successful company. Whether it’s helping each other fix a bug, scouring Stack Overflow for the right command, or helping a colleague up after falling from his skis on Hotovo’s annual ski trip. It’s a severely under-appreciated aspect of work if you ask me – luckily Hotovo seems to care about that just as much!

What advice would you share with anyone who wants to join the industry?

Same as with everything else, just keep at it. The internet is truly a magnificent place: read, research, practice! 

If I can get to where I am from listening to a podcast, with enough dedication and concentration, you can get there too! The thing with IT is that it’s forever growing and changing and it seems like there is always something new to learn. Focus on one language and work on that one. 

And a little extra advice for the gals reading this – sometimes being in the minority of an industry can also be an ace up your sleeve!

Conclusion

Women have had a significant impact on software development in recent years. They have increased diversity, broken stereotypes, brought new ideas and approaches, and promoted collaboration and teamwork. As more women enter the field of software development, we can expect to see even more innovation and progress in this industry. It’s important to continue to encourage and support women in this field to ensure that we continue to make progress in the years to come.

On behalf of Hotovo I wish all women a very happy 8th of March International Women's Day!!!

Saša Jovanović

Branch Manager - Serbia