Owned by Catena Media, AskGamblers is one of the best-known names in online gambling. And since we’re putting together a feature series for International Women’s Day, it would be foolish to ignore the women making said website tick.
Today, we speak to Bojana Kovacevic – Senior Backend Developer. We also talk to Ana Radovanovic – Senior Content Editor for the Italian Market – and Marijana Skrivanko, SEO Strategy Lead.
The trio talk about the benefits of a more diverse workplace. They also provide tips for women looking to succeed in affiliate marketing, plus more.
Affiverse: How do you think that AskGamblers has benefitted from having multiple senior female team members?
Ana Radovanovic: “Diversity is important for building any successful team. And female team members and female managers in AskGamblers are for sure one of the most treasured elements of our team. They are independent individuals, courageous, highly skilled but yet very analytical and caring. The way they organise, hold the reins and motivate others is what keeps the wheels rolling, fast and firm.”
Bojana Kovacevic: “From my experience, teams with female members perform better than those without. Women are better at building relationships, making internal and external communication better. Female team members have more a motherly approach to teaching and have more patience which enables junior employees to make progress and perform at their best.”
Marijana Skrivanko: “I believe having more female seniors team members in the company is essential for a healthier balance between colleagues and better communication flow. There are some things that women are better at, just as men are at others. But how I perceive it is that we always strive to choose the best people and achieve an equal gender presence.”
AI: How has the industry’s attitude towards women changed since you started your career?
AR: “To be honest, I don’t believe it has changed. I also that certain cultures have different and more progressive attitudes than others.
“AskGamblers is based in Serbia, which is generally considered a patriarchal society. Nevertheless, that attitude is hardly noticeable inside our team. And that’s probably one of our secret ingredients.”
BK: “The industry has changed a lot. First of all, the number of women within it has grown. And correlating with that, the number of women in senior leadership positions has also grown.
“More companies are seeing the value of having more female leaders, which is an important step in the right direction. Employees care about opportunity and fairness. And when a company’s culture feels fair and inclusive, women are both happier and likelier to thrive.
“As more women become seniors and leaders, there will be more women to promote and hire at each subsequent level.”
MS: “I am convinced that women are more respected and appreciated in the industry than back in the day when I started. More and more women are beginning to find their place in the iGaming world. And it is certainly well deserved!”
AI: Tell us about your breakthrough in iGaming and affiliate marketing. How did you get to where you are today?
AR: “I have been working for AskGamblers for a few years now and that is my main basepoint in affiliate marketing. I am responsible for AskGamblers.com/it, an affiliate casino website carefully crafted for the Italian market.
“As most people involved in this market know, many turbulences have occurred in the past couple of years and there are still questions that need answering. With the help of my coworkers, we have faced them all, and we have built a high-quality and compliant product.
“By solving the issues we have encountered during the process, I saw myself growing together with the site and I can proudly say that there are rare products in the Italian market that offer services the way we do (both to affiliates and players). Needless to say that we are always working on improving and growing, as well as searching for new opportunities to build new strong partnerships.”
BK: “This industry and me are pure coincidence, but thankfully a good coincidence. The simple and only true answer to this question is work, work and work.
“In the beginning, I didn’t know what to expect because all of this was new to me. But I knew that AskGamblers is the most visited online portal for player and casino ratings, and is named the world’s best casino affiliate site. For me, that was enough. If you want the best for you, you need to work for and with the best.
“I’m still in progress – stay tuned.”
MS: “My breakthrough began when I accepted the offer to become SEO manager for AskGamblers. It was a privilege to be able to contribute to such a huge project and sharpen my SEO and motivational skills along the way, in our fast-paced and super-competitive industry.”
AI: And finally, what’s your biggest piece of advice for women looking to build a career in this industry?
AR: “Believe in yourself, explore, learn, be fierce, listen to your gut and embrace other women along the way.”
BK: “Put your ego aside and focus on your goals. And never be afraid to ask questions, that’s the one thing that can make a difference.”
MS: “Stay focused on your goals, do not allow anyone to put you off-balance and try to perfect yourself not just as an expert – but also as a person and as a leader. Because both of those are just as important.”
Keep an eye out on our website in the coming days for more features related to International Women’s Day. If you want similar content delivered to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter.
