📋 Tender Overview
The Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Information Security (URSIV) organized a workshop in Podgorica for female experts from the Western Balkan countries, employed in the field of cyber security in the private, public and academic spheres. The event took place between September 30 and October 1 under the auspices of the Western Balkans Cyber ??Capacity Center (WB3C).
The event was interactive, where the lecturers actively involved the participants and participated themselves, as they were present throughout the training. The topics were designed with a focus on the challenges women face in careers related to cyber security and information technology. Among the lecturers were representatives of the organizations Woman4Cyber ??and WIT network, experts employed in technical positions in private companies, and lecturers from the University of Maribor and the University of Montenegro.
The participants highlighted the importance of establishing and maintaining cyber security in the Western Balkans and the fact that cyber security is considered a male domain in the world. Women are in the minority in this field, and in some cases they leave this field. There was a discussion about the lack of confidence of women in cybernetics and ways to empower women. Openness among women, mentoring and education were identified as the main building blocks of self-confidence. The education of young girls and boys to learn about equality and its importance for society was also recognized as very important.
The workshop addressed the benefits of diversity in the field of information security and the recruitment process that favors male colleagues, as there is to a large extent a conscious or unconscious bias against women. They emphasized the advantages that women bring to such jobs, e.g. soft skills and thought about the adaptation of women to a male environment, where women largely give up feminine characteristics, e.g. lowering the tone of voice. The participants were educated about the qualities that employers are looking for when recruiting personnel in cybernetics, which are not the same as the content emphasized by the education system.
In groups, female participants named the main limitations in their work, where they most often mentioned harassment, lower pay than male colleagues, underestimation, humiliation, excessive workload and not being heard in the workplace. They tried to find solutions or improvements for these limitations.
The workshops took place in a relaxed atmosphere, in the form of individual and group work as well as other creative approaches, role-playing, real-time recording of answers in the form of surveys, arguing positions and expressing opinions. The emphasis was on sharing experiences and networking. One of the activities included group meditation and active attention training. At the end, the participants received certificates, and the lecturers received a certificate of appreciation.
The Slovenian Embassy in Podgorica prepared a reception at which the participants were addressed by Slovenian Ambassador Bernarda Gradišnik. The Center for the European Future (CEP) participated organizationally in the implementation of the training, and the workshops took place in the premises of WB3C within the Technology Park ?rna Gora.
