Happy International Women’s Day!
As the world celebrates the achievements and contributions of women, it’s essential to shine a light on those within poker and especially those working at PokerNews.
We gathered a group of four female staff members for a round table discussion about their experience in the industry, what it’s like working at PokerNews and what can be done to encourage more women to get involved in the world of poker — both as players and in industry roles.
Here are the four participants:
- Shirley Ang: Global Live Events Manager
- Elena Baubke: Product Owner
- Viktorija Tupalskyte: Office Administrator
- Gaëlle Jaudon: French Subdomain Manager
PokerNews: Thanks everyone for participating in this celebration of the women who work for PokerNews. How about you each introduce yourself?
Shirley Ang: I’m Shirley and I’m responsible for planning and executing all the PokerNews coverage from events all around the world plus recruiting and training our reporters, budgeting, and on-site management. The list goes on! I moved into a full-time role in 2021 but originally started working as a freelance live reporter.
Gaëlle Jaudon: Me too! I started live reporting for PokerNews just after you in 2018. Time flies when you’re passionate about your work and travelling to exciting destinations around Europe — even the Bahamas! I’m now responsible for the French subdomain, managing the site and looking after the daily news output.
PN: And from former live reporters to our Lithuanian office. Elena, Viktorija — how long have you been at PokerNews and what do you do?
Viktorija Tubalskyte: I just started in November last year as an administrator for our office in Vilnius. I’m blessed to have such a nice team. They motivate me.
Elena Baubke: I’ve been a product owner since 2021. I get to work on so many projects and collaborate closely with stakeholders all over the business. The evolving nature of the work, and helping to oversee the delivery of our product keeps me engaged and excited.
PN: Live reporting is synonymous with PokerNews, and is so important to our readers all around the world. How do you stay motivated and engaged?
SA: Some projects are less visible to our readers than others, but I enjoy getting to learn new things and work on more complicated projects. Especially when I’m learning new things or trying new creative initiatives.
PN: And what are some of these newer initiatives that you’ve been working on?
SA: Too many to mention! But we’re putting in lots of work ahead of the 2024 WSOP and making general improvements to our live event product. And of course, there’s the work going into the PokerNews DeepStack Championship and the PokerNews Daily Deepstacks.
PN: Elena, as product owner I know you work closely with Shirley and lots of other teams. How important is teamwork across PokerNews?
EB: I always say: never assume you can read anyone’s mind. Effective communication and collaboration are super important in what we do. My involvement spans almost all PokerNews projects and every time it reinforces the need to work together as a team…on everything!
GJ: Some of my favourite moments have come from being part of a team, especially at live events. Getting to share laughs with coworkers and experiencing the intense emotions of tournament poker — you can never experience the same day twice, and not many workplaces offer you such variety.
VT: It’s rare to have such a nice bunch of people in one company. We’re all very different people, but I love how united we are as a team.
PN: It’s important to celebrate International Women’s Day, and I want to ask what you think can be done to encourage more women to participate in the poker world.
SA: I think players need to be kinder towards each other. Poker can be a cutthroat game, and even when you’re playing for yourself you still need to work to make the environment as welcoming as possible.
GJ: I agree. Things are moving in the right direction, slowly but surely. I’m optimistic that we’ll see more women playing poker in the future. I also think that the industry offers a lot of job opportunities and career paths for women. The industry is constantly evolving and so are the career options within it.
EB: It’s important to make sure that the women who are involved in the poker world feel like queens. Everyone is unique, and we need to embrace that. While the number of women in poker is increasing, we should also focus on the women who are playing poker and showcase them to a wider audience, to potentially encourage more women to join them.
SA: It’s great to see good examples of women in leadership roles within PokerNews and within Flutter in general. I think the industry could do more to network and support one another. We should champion the successes we’ve achieved so far, and make sure women in poker feel heard, included, valued and empowered.
PN: I couldn’t agree more. Thank you all for your contributions!
