International Women's Day at EFD

We marked the International Women's Day with a special gathering at our HQ in Varazdin, raising a toast to our ladies' achievements and presenting some thoughtful gifts. 

Company COO Marko Mozina highlighted the important role of women in Emil Frey Digital, both on product development teams and in management, finance, and HR. Ever since it was founded, our organization has had women excelling in leadership and strategic positions; we remain dedicated to creating opportunities for new generations of women to prosper in our international ICT environment. 

-It is paramount that we maintain an inclusive work environment, and make sure the opportunity is equal. Our company is all about innovation, progress, research and development. I believe women of different backgrounds and affinities will find Emil Frey Digital a place of opportunity and reward, Marko said. 

In recent years, our digital innovation center in Varazdin, Croatia, has welcomed a number of younger-generation female engineers. We are mindful of their future progression toward senior and leadership roles. 

While the trends around the participation of women in the IT workforce is positive, the pace of change is still slower than desired. According to Eurostat, women made around 22% of the Croatian IT workforce in 2021, while the European average was 17%. At EFD, we are proud to exceed the European average by having 24% of women occupying diverse positions within our organization.

Declaration of Commitment on Women in Digital emphasizes that "the increase in the share of women in the ICT sector will be critical in Europe’s efforts to build a more sustainable economy and society through digital innovation.”

International Women's Day originated in the late 19th century, at a turbulent time in the history of civil and voting rights. These days, it is an occasion to honor the ground-breaking achievements of women in technology. The 19th-century British mathematician Ada Lovelace is widely considered to be the first ever programmer. As humans moved to explore space, the contributions of the computer scientist Margaret Hamilton were vital in developing software that powered the Apollo program. Most recently, the attention is turned towards Mira Murati, CTO at OpenAI, creators of the AI-powered ChatGPT. Having and promoting role models is often seen as an important agent of change. As editor Alan Burkitt-Gray said in a recent analysis at Capacity Media - if you can see them, you can be them!