BtoBet CEO promotes gender balance in tech industry

Having worked within the technology industry for 17 years, Kostandina Zafirovska is now the CEO of gaming platform provider BtoBet, managing all areas from marketing and sales to finance and production.

Zafirovska’s tech capabilities span the vast field of computer science. She initially trained as a database designer and moved into project management. From there she worked as part of development cycles for a myriad industries and in 2012 she made the move into egaming.

More women are moving into the world of gaming in tech, Zafirovska believes. She is keen to promote gender balance and says that women should take pride in being the minority in the industry.

EGR Technology: What are some of the more daunting and challenging aspects of managing an entire tech business?

KZ: What is important in a career like mine is an understanding of the business concept, the domain and management itself. The most important thing I would say is to be focused on choosing a team that I can rely on, and can really handle the day to day operations in terms of being responsible and efficient. The most valuable according to my experience is choosing a team that makes the company strong.

EGR Technology: Is there anything, in your experience, that you think has been made difficult by being a woman?

KZ: I would say that all women, especially in industries more dominated by males, should consider it as a privilege. It is much easier to develop and grow in that kind of environment, than in another that has a different structure for men and women. Why is that? There is more attention on the woman, meaning she can give much more in terms of potential and ability. Men really want to work with women that are intelligent and capable and can turn challenges into opportunities.

EGR Technology: How much of BtoBet is made up of female employees?

KZ: I would say it’s 50/50. Within the management level, alongside me, the Chief marketing officer is a woman, along with much of her team. Our Support manager is a woman, as is our Technical manager and Setup Manager. Many of the developers as well as QA engineers and technical support are also women. We are pretty balanced as a company, but also within management there are a lot of women.

EGR Technology: How difficult do you think it is to attract women into technology roles, specifically within egaming?

KZ: In terms of women in technology it’s not that difficult but it depends from country to country. I’m situated in Skopje Macedonia where being in technology as an IT engineer is considered to be a good position, and that’s why we have a very balanced number of women and men. It’s not so uncommon to see a woman in technology. In contrary, in Sweden for example it’s different because for women it’s more natural to work within HR and marketing. I cannot predict how it will change in ten years, but surely everything will move towards the side of technology. Everything we do is related to technology in one way or another, so women will be more present.

I can see that there are more women in gaming lately, in five years from now the balance will be even better because systems now are more advanced and the operators are different. It is more attractive.

EGR Technology: Why do you think that there are still relatively few women in tech roles within the industry?

KZ: To be a woman in this industry the person has to be very focused and dedicated and this also means making sacrifices. In gaming there is no specific working time, and travelling is a must. You have to be available 24/7 and that could be difficult for a woman who didn’t have a family that gives them sufficient support to balance work and home life. For me, I’m very lucky because I have a lovely husband who supports me and two children who are very understanding of my work. It’s absolutely something that is challenging for a woman. In terms of the work itself I would say there are no other limitations.

EGR Technology: What do you think women can offer to the industry specifically?

KZ: That’s a very interesting question. If we go back in time, the role of the woman was really to keep the family together and to keep the home warm. Which is a very loyal role. Men were hunters so loyalty was not so prevalent. The woman can bring value and loyalty to their abilities. They really would like to keep the company as one and promote competition in a different way.

EGR Technology: Is there a particular sector that you think there are more women in?

KZ: Legal and marketing I would say. I can see with some of our clients that the heads of gaming operations are women, which is very interesting.

EGR Technology: What do you think are the biggest challenges faced by women in general, in the tech and gaming industries?

KZ: The only challenge is that it is more natural for men to go into betting shops and understand the business, or be more hooked on football, but that just means that women need to learn to understand the minds of the players and how they think about betting, and how they act as a player.

EGR Technology: What should companies be doing to attract more women into the gaming and technology industries, and is BtoBet doing anything specific?

KZ: We promote ourselves as a balanced company that has leading roles filled by women. What others can do is simply put down all taboos about gaming being an industry for males. And to give more opportunities to women because there are so many clever women out there capable of taking on the burden and really delivering well. They should be open minded and promote more opportunities for women. On the other hand, if they need someone to take care of the company really well, with dedication and devotion, then they should really choose a woman.

EGR Technology: A study on the preference of investors for ‘attractive men’ who pitch entrepreneurial ideas was carried out in 2014. The findings suggested female managers “improve overall firm performance by bringing informational and social diversity benefits to the management team, enriching the behaviours exhibited by managers throughout the firm, and motivating lower-status women in the firm”. Would you agree?

KZ: Statistics are generally meant to maintain balance within industries across the world. I can agree with the statement but it is not is ultimately like that. Yes they can improve overall performance and enrich and motivating but at the end of the day it always depends on the person. It’s very important that whoever is chosen is considered in terms of personality, experience, capacity for growth and potential. It’s not just about being a man or women, it’s about being a professional.