International Women’s Day is a time when the strength and contributions of women are widely discussed, especially on social media. This day serves as a reminder of the importance of equality, support, and collectively building a better future for all. In our culture, this is a significant date, and it is up to all of us to change the perception that the symbol of March 8th should be a carnation or a box of chocolates.
Just as technological revolutions change the world, women push boundaries, bringing innovation and fresh perspectives to IT.
Ada Lovelace designed the first algorithm, Grace Hopper developed the compiler, and Karen Spark Jones laid the foundation for NLP, which powers today’s AI systems like ChatGPT, search engines, and speech recognition. Fei-Fei Li taught machines to “see,” while Cynthia Breazeal created robots that can feel—bridging technology and empathy.
As these examples illustrate, women play a crucial role in the IT industry. The average percentage of women in IT in Serbia is 22%, while in Levi9 Serbia, that number reaches an impressive 40%. This is twice the percentage of women in tech positions in the Dutch digital sector, where the company is headquartered. Women at Levi9 also hold one-third of managerial positions, shaping important company decisions.
Just like in a beehive, where the queen bee and worker bees tirelessly build and sustain the community, the women at Levi9 lead, innovate, and drive change.
This idea inspired Levi9 IT’s collaboration with the BeeCenter beekeeping hub for International Women’s Day. At interactive events across all Levi9 offices in Novi Sad, Belgrade, and Zrenjanin, the Mardešić brothers gave a lecture on the fascinating world of bees. They started by explaining that in 2019, bees were declared the most important living beings on the planet, as 70% of global agriculture depends on them.
Bees are an incredible example of perfect organization and efficiency, and their community operates as a true matriarchy. At the center of the hive is the queen—the only fertile female—whose primary role is to produce offspring and maintain the colony’s stability. Worker bees, which are also female, perform all the essential tasks: collecting food, feeding the brood, cleaning the hive, and defending it from intruders. Each bee knows its role, and through flawless cooperation, they create a sustainable and powerful community. This natural system, led by females, demonstrates how discipline, responsibility, and teamwork foster strength and progress—just like in successful organizations.
This Bee AI-mazing gathering ended with creative activities. Our colleagues had the opportunity to create their own unique honey jar by choosing from different nuts and bee products. Even the labels were personalized—with the help of AI technology.
It was fascinating to see a variety of visuals—generated using popular tools such as MidJourney, Copilot, and ChatGPT—where bees were styled in the manner of Nadežda Petrović, Milena Pavlović Barili, and famous Dutch painters like Van Gogh and Rembrandt.
