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 Marta Chmielarz, TM/MB Cabinet & Door Subsystem Leader from Wroclaw, Poland, one of the Women’s Network Leaders of the EMEA East Hub.
Can you tell us about your leadership at Whirlpool and some initiatives you led?
In my daily job I lead the mechanical designers team that takes care of TM/BM refrigerators.
I’m also committed to improving working standards for our employees, with a strong focus on creating a winning workplace in our location. With this objective in mind, I am leading the renovation project for GPO Refrigeration offices in Wroclaw.
What is your vision about Women in leadership positions?
I believe that women can give a completely different point of view in business situations. Women may be tough in leading a team, but at the same time they are usually focused on the employees and their life.
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 believe it can help to make a difference in several areas of employees’ lives, such as the work-life balance. We want to show how to preserve the correct balance between work and family with no negative impact on business. Being passionate about your work doesn’t mean giving up your personal life.
I am also particularly committed to empowering young women in engineering, product development and manufacturing positions.
There are still a lot of stereotypes on this topic, and we want to show that women are good engineers and are able to deliver incredible results as well as men. We strongly believe that these fields will offer more and more opportunities for women in the future.
Women and girls need strong role models to look up to and to follow in their footsteps.
Can you tell us about one woman who has impacted your life or who inspires you?
For me the most inspirational woman is Maria Curie — Sklodowska, the Polish scientist who was awarded a Nobel Prize twice. She brought down barriers in the scientific world in the 19th century. She was completely dedicated to her work and her huge engagement won her the Nobel prize.
Why should our employees be part of the Women’s Network?
All employees should subscribe to the Women’s Network because it offers the opportunity to meet a lot of interesting people — not only women — and exchange experiences and different perspectives on many aspects of our daily work life.