Women in Industry presents Ľubica Takácsová

I decided to follow my friend’s advice, who at that time was studying at the University of Technology. He predicted that the field of automation will be progressing at such a pace throughout the whole industry that it will be a (work) lifetime victory to be part of it. He was right. That is why studying “automated process control system” at the Faculty of chemical technology was my first choice after graduation.

I do not see any major advantages resulting from being a woman. Each member of the team has to do their part when dealing with a specific project. The basis is a good team leader, who efficiently manages the workload among the team considering the individual abilities and skills regardless of gender. And I will say that I have never had a problem in this area. My male colleagues were always willing to help and support me whenever I needed it. Also, the fact that males are predominant in the team is a benefit in terms of not having to deal with family, relationships, or other similar problems, which might become the source of quarrels, envy, or other conflicts.

As a system engineer – programmer, my accomplishments are always connected to the team I cooperated with on a specific project. After each successful launch of a new operation unit, the success of the project was also my own success. Of course, my share of the applied technical solutions in course of the projects is always different. However, it is always the result of the team – from the project, through assembly, turning on the device until the go-live phase.

From day one, coming out of maternity leave and caring for 2 children, my superior fully supported and understood my family situation. Even though I was a young mother with theoretical knowledge and no practical experience, I was given the opportunity to work on my first project as an equal member of the team. The senior colleagues have accepted and trained me. The obstacles were mainly caused by lacking experience from other technical areas, specifically from electrical engineering, measurements, or device construction. Unfortunately, I was not able to overcome these obstacles, mainly due to a different field of study (chemistry) and not fully understanding the electric current principles and the related topics. Fortunately, I was still accepted by my peers. It happens, from time to time, that during client meetings men are looking at women sidelong. In most cases, this mistrust is overcome with additional meetings. Prejudices exist on both sides but with fair and decent behavior this can be overcome.

At this point, no one should have to decide on their profession based on gender. What matters is the skills, knowledge and solid technical thinking. When choosing a profession in industry there are some things you need to consider: the possibility of working in a hazardous environment or working all day during continuous operations. But if this is not a setback for you, go for it, working in industry is not boring or monotonous. It is full of changes, challenges and possibilities.