The 8th of March marks the beginning of Women’s History Month, an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society.
For this occasion, we interviewed a few of our employees from Whirlpool EMEA Women’s Network to talk about what leadership means to them, who inspires them and what Women’s Network is all about.
Meet Magdalena Gasztych, HR Senior Manager, West Europe, one of the Women’s Network Leaders of the EMEA West Hub.
Can you tell us about your leadership at Whirlpool and some initiatives you led?
As HR Generalist, I’ve been able to support leaders in realizing the company’s strategy. Initiatives that were very important for me include:
WPS implementation in the Cooking Factory in Wroclaw, which was my first big project;
the 10th anniversary of Whirlpool in Wroclaw, the last project I managed before leaving Poland;
Whirlpool and Indesit integration, the most challenging one, where it was a great pleasure for me to support and work with the Procurement team.
Those experiences helped me to grow professionally and personally. Thanks to such opportunities I understood that clear and transparent communication is the key to engaging people and building trust, and that empowering people is critical for building high performing teams.
What is your vision about Women in leadership positions?
For me it doesn’t really matter if a leader is female or male. It does matter if he or she has right skills, competencies and charisma to lead the people and the organization in the right direction. I think what is important for each organization is to have a balanced and diverse leadership team — different experiences, perspective and values are important for executive decision-making yields, competitive advantage and the right team dynamics.
Can you tell us about one woman who has impacted your life or who inspires you?
I have met on my way many women who have impacted my life and I’ve read about many whose life stories inspired me. But the one that impacted me the most is my mother. A very independent person and a strong character, she has always risen to challenges with a positive attitude and a “never give up” mindset. She taught me that failures are needed to become better and stronger and that we need to draw lessons from difficult situations.
What Women’s Network hub are you co-ordinating and what activities are planning for your hub?
I am West Cluster Women’s Network Leader together with Alessandra Romagna, Marketing Director KA. As we have 6 markets in the cluster, we are focusing on both local and common cluster initiatives. Our main intention is to develop a community where we can share, discuss, support and learn from each other. We are also engaging our male colleagues to have their inputs and together drive the actions which are helping to create a great working atmosphere and equal opportunities for women and men.
Why did you join the Women’s Network? What does it mean to you to be a part of it?
I joined the Women’s Network because I think it is a very important initiative. Current trends show that women underestimate or undersell their competencies and qualifications. This is definitely putting them at a disadvantage. Thanks to initiatives like the Women’s Network we can empower our female population by sharing, mentoring and coaching. We can support their growth and development and we can increase their awareness of how to fight for what they dream about.
Why should our employees be part of the Women’s Network?
All employees should subscribe to the Women’s Network because joint forces have more power.