International Women’s Day is already upon us, and discussions around diversity, equity and inclusion have come a long way in recent years.
This year International Women’s Day also coincides with the 11-year anniversary of Videoslots first female employee, Laura Zarb Cousin, who still works with the company.
During her time at Videoslots she has held a number of roles including Head of Design, Creative Director and now Product Director. “My career started at Videoslots in 2012 when I was hired as a Graphic Designer. I was the fourth employee, first woman and first Maltese to join the company. As Videoslots grew as a brand, it gave me the opportunity to grow along the way,” Zarb Cousin told CasinoBeats.
“I was initially promoted to Head of Design and allowed the chance to build the design department. This was my first managerial role, so this was a massive stepping stone for myself. This role taught me how to become a mentor, leader, and be more confident in the work I was doing.
“Videoslots has always been very supportive, offering training and courses to better my leadership skills. I had been working at Videoslots for a few years when I felt I had reached the maximum growth in the design department, and I wanted to grow my knowledge in other areas of the iGaming industry.
“As the company was growing, I saw the opportunity for improvement within the business. From this we created the role of Creative Director, and this allowed me to hire a Head of Design replacement.
“After working for two years within this role, I went in more of a product direction and as a result, we needed to expand this team further. So, for the past two years I have been Product Director and manage a small team within this sector, ensuring our product and vision in the business succeeds.”
Since joining Videoslots, the team has expanded its reach on a global scale – now, with a presence in Denmark, Italy, Malta, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
With a global footprint, Zarb Cousin explained that it’s now more important than ever to mark initiatives such as International Women’s Day – something that she highlighted is not just for women, but rather can benefit a company as a whole.
She added: “International Women’s Day is about celebrating how society has so far evolved, highlighting women’s achievements, women’s rights and gender equality. This day also pushes the focus on the importance of what still needs to be done.
CasinoBeats asked Laura if she had any words of encouragement or advice for those who would like to pursue senior leadership roles in their career.
“I believe wanting to be in a leadership role needs to come from determination and willingness to learn from the individual. It’s about being consistent, while taking small yet significant steps.
“It is important to not take things personally, we work in a fast-paced industry and stress levels can get overwhelming and it is vital to work as a team.”
In November last year, Videoslots rebranded with a new look and two new slogans #shapeyourfuture and ‘We are the Real Thing’.
Joining the conversation, Chief People Officer Anne Muscat Scerri explained that these two new slogans will showcase Videoslots’ commitment to career development and DEI initiatives for everyone in the company.
She said: “The rebranding shows that as a company, we take pride in our diverse and inclusive culture, whilst also focusing and putting emphasis on how Videoslots is a place where you can grow your career and hence #shapeyourfuture.
“With over 43 different nationalities from all over the world, with the youngest being 18 and the oldest 64, ‘We are the real thing’, as it is our people that make the company. Diversity brings in new ideas and acts as a pathway to unlock creativity. We see it as a key component for long term success.
