Q&A: The women behind 888's SheLeads initiative

In October last year, 888 launched SheLeads, an innovative new programme designed to accelerate the development of women across all of 888’s international offices. The aim is to inspire the next generation of female leaders and significantly increase the number of women in professional and managerial roles. Thirty ‘SheLeaders’ were chosen to complete the eight-week programme, culminating in a presentation of their own personal story. These presentations were shown at an online event for International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8 March.

EGR Intel: SheLeads is a fantastic initiative. How and why did it come about?

Hanni Malka (HM): Research has shown that women as leaders bring a greater diversity of skills – skills that businesses benefit from having. 888’s 1,700 strong workforce is almost 40% women but, like many companies, once you climb up to the more senior positions, you see fewer women. The programme aims to empower women with the skills they need to progress within 888 as well as attract talented women to the online gaming industry. We want to make it known that women’s voices are heard here.

EGR Intel: 888 has selected 30 SheLeaders to head up the initiative. How were they chosen?

HM: The 30 SheLeaders were chosen based on three criteria: she is positively impactful, she has self-motivation to progress her career and she possesses ‘good vibes’ when it comes to personal development for herself and others. Overall, a SheLeader must have qualities such as empathy, respect, self-awareness and perception in order to create and nurture a community where women support one another. We also made sure we selected woman across all 888’s locations so our programme was far reaching and inclusive. Chiara Saccucci (CS): We are a group of women who really believe in our business and enjoy being part of the 888 group. I can testify that every single one of the 30 magnificent women brought their own unique dedication, energy and desire to fully participate in the programme. It felt as if we’d been given a prize.

EGR Intel: Historically, more men than women work in the gambling industry. Why do you think this is?

CS: The first time I stepped into this industry in 2005, I was a complete newbie but I knew it was an environment associated with risk taking – and men have historically been seen as greater risk takers than women. But, ‘historically’ is correct because I work with plenty of fiery, action-driven, risk-taking women, some of whom bet on sports, go to bingo rooms and push themselves within their profession. So, I don’t think that question is relevant nowadays. Our customers and staff are proof of that. Hofit Abergel-Blumshtein (HAB): In the history of gaming and gambling men dominate, but in the recent years online games have changed considerably. Designs and experiences have become more ‘feminine’ – Candy Crush being a great example. Women are increasingly dictating the world of many online games in all domains. Having women’s input benefits the business and contributes towards making more varied and better products. HM: The gaming industry like any other industry is ultimately a workplace, and workplaces need to be managed. 888 has women in tech, online marketing, customer support and customer-facing positions and the sooner we increase the number of women in senior positions, then the faster more women will follow. One of the lessons learned from this programme is that if a woman offers another woman an opportunity, she’ll take it. Women supporting women is key.

EGR Intel: What skills do women bring to business?

HM: I think the most magnificent skill a woman brings into the workplace is the ability to handle different opinions and diversity, to act with her heart as well as her mind and listen to others. This has often been termed ‘soft’ skills but in actuality they are power skills. Women can juggle heavy workloads, responsibilities, absorb other opinions and still make the right decisions quickly. Research shows that women simultaneously consider more factors and make decisions faster than men. This is something every company can benefit from.

EGR Intel: What does being a SheLeader mean to you personally?

CS: To inspire, to motivate, to prove to people our objectives can be achieved. It empowers us to be there for our other colleagues and that’s an incredible responsibility to have. It’s inspirational for me looking at the business and for future women joining 888. HAB: For me, it means being a cheerleader, a mentor, a role model. Encouraging women to be empowered to stop doubting and finding reasons not to go for it and instead harness their skills and go and get what they want and deserve. Through talking with 29 women in a safe environment, you realise they have all felt the same insecurities, faced the same obstacles. All of us have backstories which no one knows about inside of a work environment. Many women are walking similar paths and feeling the same emotions. To follow this programme and learn ways to remind women to look at their achievements and overcome their insecurities is an honour and a gift.

EGR Intel: The culmination of the programme was a three-minute presentation. Did some women find this daunting?

HAB: In the first session we were told the process would end with a three-minute presentation. Some women physically recoiled at that and questioned their ability to continue, but the build-up was very gradual and manageable, and women became less stressed and more relaxed as they started to feel supported. By the end, women just stood up and did it! We were all ready because of the tools we’d been given. Sharon Ziv (SZ): I can tell you that 99% of the women at the beginning of the programme said they wouldn’t be able to do it. And absolutely none of them were chosen for their public speaking capabilities. I am used to presenting as it’s part of my job, but I was very daunted by having to speak about something personal and I found the actual writing of my story very challenging indeed. But whatever our individual hurdles, we overcame them. All the guidance we received from experts, public speakers, marketing promoters, actors and from our own internal women showed us how it can be done. When the time came to record the video, we’d all put so much work into it that we wanted do it!

EGR Intel: Can you tell us more about the development sessions?

HAB: Every session was amazing. We arrived with an empty toolkit and each week, piece by piece, we fully kitted it out. For example, none of us knew how to ‘brand’ ourselves, but this process gave us time to examine and compare ourselves, to see what our life experiences have given us and to discover our personal brand. What are we? What are we selling? Why would people want to buy it? I genuinely found this quite life changing. Despite working in marketing, I had never thought to apply marketing principles to myself – it blew my mind! We also learned how to talk and position ourselves in meetings – literally how to stand, sit and capture your audience – in-person or on Zoom calls. I tend to talk quickly and I found focusing on my language, speed, emphasis and tone quite difficult to get right. But now I feel very passionate about how I present myself. When I look back now at the notes and the edits I made to my story, I can clearly see my personal growth.

EGR Intel: The programme ended with a special event on International Women’s Day (8 March). Was this well received?

CS: The International Women’s Day online event was beautifully presented and reached a wide audience way beyond our colleagues at 888. There was a big buzz on the day as our families and friends were invited to watch. The chat, WhatsApp group, texts, were all pinging like crazy! So many people said it was over too soon because they wanted to watch more – 30 stories were not enough. I have opened my address book to a whole bunch of new women that I now know I can depend on personally and professionally, the response has been incredible. HM: The feedback we’ve received has been heart-warming – managers who didn’t know a particular employee was so strong and confident. Amazing women walk among us and we need to find out more about them.

EGR Intel: Were there common themes running through the inspirational stories?

HM: Overcoming. Many women chose a point in their life where they’d raised above circumstance and made it through. And writing about it, describing it and sharing it achieved an even higher level of overcoming. Lots of the women had ‘wow’ moments where they felt genuinely empowered. They saw their own strength, maybe for the first time. Those were very powerful moments. CS: Resilience. Sometimes we are conscious of it, of our own strength, and other times we feel we have none. This process revealed very clearly that resilience resides in us and we use it even when we aren’t aware of it. Everyone in that group had been faced with challenges in their lives, challenges that some women couldn’t and didn’t overcome. But, they kept going and never gave up.

EGR Intel: What is your biggest gain from the programme?

HAB: I cherish this group of women. We’ve formed a strong and lasting bond. These are women I interacted with every day, on Zoom, in the cafeteria, in the elevator; they were unknown to me. But now I’ve heard them roar! HM: I share the tools I’ve gained and tell women to be more than just their CV. When I’m interviewing women for promotions or new positions, I encourage them to tell me who they are, what makes them special, why they are fun to work with, what makes them proactive and innovative? I’m determined to find out more about them than just their career history.

EGR Intel: Will 888 repeat the programme next year?

HM: We need change and innovation in our working life, whether that’s more women in senior positions or creating the best products. We should all have goals and, if we want to lead, then we have to push through our insecurities and make ourselves heard. Our current SheLeaders now have the responsibility as individuals and as a collective group to support female colleagues to discover what they’re capable of and encourage them to grasp opportunities that lay ahead. Women are good for business and we will definitely continue with the programme next year. We can bring out the SheLeader in every woman! Hofit Abergel-Blumshtein has been based in 888’s Israel office since June 2020. She started as CRM manager in the Casino B2C unit and is now 888’s casino games marketing manager. Chiara Saccucci has worked with 888 since June 2005, mainly in the training domain. She relocated from Gibraltar to Bucharest in March 2020 and is currently customer-facing training team leader for 888sparkware, managing a team of four instructors. Hanni Malka is director of global organisational development and learning at 888. She has been with 888 for four years and in her current role she leads the development programmes for employees and managers in the business. Sharon Ziv is director of employer brand and talent acquisition at 888. She has been working with 888 for 16 years, with her first 10 years spent in the marketing B2C division and later moving into the HR division. She currently runs 888’s employer brand, internal communications, employee experience and talent acquisition.