{"id":6073,"date":"2025-06-12T10:28:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T08:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/?p=6073"},"modified":"2025-06-12T11:05:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T09:05:57","slug":"6073","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/en\/news\/2025\/06\/6073\/","title":{"rendered":"Panel Discussion on Women in the IT Industry Held"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"154\" data-end=\"183\"><strong data-start=\"154\" data-end=\"183\">SheCodes Panel Discussion<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"185\" data-end=\"520\">The Serbian IT Association (SITA), in collaboration with Endava and AWDS, organized a panel discussion dedicated to women in the IT industry. The aim of the discussion was to address key everyday challenges such as obstacles women face in the field, balancing professional and family life, and achieving the ideal balance within teams.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"185\" data-end=\"520\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6064\" src=\"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9993-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9993-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9993-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9993-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9993-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9993-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9993-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"522\" data-end=\"881\">Throughout the discussion, participants emphasized the importance of breaking down stereotypes, supporting mentorship, and empowering women through education and professional opportunities. The panel was interactive, giving the audience a chance to ask questions, exchange ideas, and learn more about tangible steps toward building a more inclusive IT sector.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"883\" data-end=\"1215\">Marko Vu\u010deti\u0107, Director of the Serbian IT Association, opened the event with a speech: &#8220;When we came together around the idea of founding SITA, we defined key values that we continue to uphold. At the top of that list have always been women in IT. With this group of panelists, we wanted to showcase examples of best practices.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1217\" data-end=\"1244\"><strong data-start=\"1217\" data-end=\"1244\">The panelists included:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1246\" data-end=\"1426\">\n<li data-start=\"1246\" data-end=\"1333\">\n<p data-start=\"1248\" data-end=\"1333\"><strong data-start=\"1248\" data-end=\"1265\">Marina Varzar<\/strong> \u2013 Director at DataArt and a member of the SITA Board of Directors<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1334\" data-end=\"1386\">\n<p data-start=\"1336\" data-end=\"1386\"><strong data-start=\"1336\" data-end=\"1353\">Jana \u0110or\u0111evi\u0107<\/strong> \u2013 Lead Test Consultant, Endava<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1387\" data-end=\"1426\">\n<p data-start=\"1389\" data-end=\"1426\"><strong data-start=\"1389\" data-end=\"1405\">Sa\u0161a Popovi\u0107<\/strong> \u2013 Director at VegaIT<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"1428\" data-end=\"1539\">Moderated by <strong data-start=\"1441\" data-end=\"1455\">Zoja Kuki\u0107<\/strong>, the panelists shared their experiences and insights from their respective careers.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1541\" data-end=\"1985\"><strong data-start=\"1541\" data-end=\"1558\">Marina Varzar<\/strong> stated: &#8220;Research conducted within our company showed that women often hesitate to consider advancing to higher positions due to the possibility of starting a family in the future. This happens even when they are not actively planning for children at the time \u2014 the mere possibility can be a deterrent. My advice is not to hold back. Give your full energy \u2014 there will be time for both your private and professional life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1541\" data-end=\"1985\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6067\" src=\"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9932-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9932-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9932-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9932-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9932-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9932-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9932-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1541\" data-end=\"1985\"><strong data-start=\"1987\" data-end=\"2004\">Jana \u0110or\u0111evi\u0107<\/strong> shared: &#8220;In the beginning, when I started forming and managing teams, I didn\u2019t think there were significant differences between men and women professionally. With more experience, I began to notice different traits, temperaments, and communication styles that often distinguish men and women. That\u2019s when I started to consider the importance of diversity, balance, and harmony when evaluating new team members.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2422\" data-end=\"2732\"><strong data-start=\"2422\" data-end=\"2438\">Sa\u0161a Popovi\u0107<\/strong> added: &#8220;I believe that seeing women in leadership and executive positions encourages other women to apply to those companies, especially those just starting their careers. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to advocate for our female colleagues and support their advancement within the company.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2734\" data-end=\"3055\"><em data-start=\"2734\" data-end=\"3035\">&#8220;At the Serbian IT Association, women make up about 33% of our membership, and one of our goals is to see that number increase each year. That\u2019s why SITA initiates projects like this and partners with companies that share these values, such as Endava, where women make up over 40% of the workforce,&#8221;<\/em> said Marko Vu\u010deti\u0107.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2734\" data-end=\"3055\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6070\" src=\"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9938-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9938-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9938-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9938-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9938-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9938-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_9938-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3057\" data-end=\"3332\">The event generated great interest and received positive feedback. Following the panel, a networking session was held, allowing participants to share experiences, discuss ideas in a relaxed setting, and connect with like-minded individuals for potential future collaboration.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"154\" data-end=\"183\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SheCodes Panel Discussion The Serbian IT Association (SITA), in collaboration with Endava and AWDS, organized a panel discussion dedicated to women in the IT industry. The aim of the discussion was to address key everyday challenges such as obstacles women face in the field, balancing professional and family life, and achieving the ideal balance within [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6062,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6073"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6076,"href":"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6073\/revisions\/6076"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sita.org.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}