International Women’s Day: Four International Women Building Careers at Calor Ireland
03/08/2016 •
4 min
On International Women’s Day in
Poland, you see every man walking with flowers. Every woman comes home with some.”
That’s how Magda describes the 8th of
March.
It’s about a simple, visible gesture
of recognition.
So, this year, for International
Women’s Day, we’re doing something similar - in our own way. We’re giving the
floor to four “international women” on our team.
Magda, Paloma, Rosalie and Nora each
came to Ireland from a different country. They built careers here, and lives. Now
their work and experience forms part of the energy that connects us at Calor.
Over time, she built her career in
Ireland, spending 16 years in one company before making a deliberate move into
a new industry. She joined Calor’s IT function, helping manage the core systems
that connect operations, finance and customer service. “In my previous job, I
knew everything,” she says. “Here, I’m learning something new every day.”
For Magda, the shift was about
growth, choosing challenge over comfort. And what stood out to her at Calor was the
communication, training, and space to engage.
“This is the culture that I’m finally
feeling is the right place for me to be,” she says.
A
year into her role, her father in Poland was diagnosed with cancer. For six
months, she travelled home every two weeks. During this time, her manager and
colleagues fully supported her, agreeing that she could work from Poland so she
could be with her dad when he needed her most. It allowed her to balance her
professional responsibilities with a very difficult personal reality.
“Living
and working in another country often requires real sacrifices,” she says. “The
support I received throughout this journey was truly exceptional. I remain
profoundly grateful for the compassion and flexibility shown to me during such
a difficult period."
Paloma from Spain
Paloma moved from Madrid seven years ago, ready for
change after eight years in her previous role.
Calor was her first employer in
Ireland and for her, the biggest adjustment was the language outside the
meeting room. “I could defend myself on work-related things,” she says. “But I
couldn’t understand people at lunch at all.”
Over time, she grew comfortable not just with the
language, but with the softer edges of Irish workplace communication.
“In Spain we are very straightforward,” she says.
“Sometimes it can feel abrupt. I really appreciate the way you do it here.”
Today, she works in Finance Planning and Analysis
at Calor, shaping forecasts and performance insights that inform key decisions.
Her career progression, including a promotion while on maternity leave,
reinforced her sense that ambition and life outside work do not have to
compete.
“I built my family here,” she says. “So for me,
Ireland is very important. It’s linked with Calor.”
Rosalie from the Netherlands
Rosalie’s life has always involved
movement. She was born in Cameroon, raised across West Africa, educated in the
Netherlands, working in South
Africa, the UK and France,
before joining Calor in Ireland as Commercial Effectiveness Manager.
She arrived here shortly after
maternity leave, with a young baby and a big decision to make.
“I always liked moving around,” she
says. “But with a small baby, I didn’t want something that was too far out.”
Ireland felt welcoming.
What stood out to her at Calor was a
genuine openness to new ideas. “Here, there’s a willingness to try something
else.” She also learned when to stop talking shop. “At lunch, I sometimes had
the bad habit to talk about work,” she smiles. “I stopped doing that here. It’s
not appreciated.”
When she arrived, HR organised a
coffee meet-up with other working mothers to share childcare advice and local
knowledge. “It eased my mind,” she says. “I don’t think I could have picked a
better place to transition with a young child.”
Nora from Hungary
Nora arrived in Ireland 22 years ago intending to
stay for one year. She never left.
Today, she works in Calor’s People and Culture team
and her work shapes how fairness and transparency are embedded across the
organisation.
Coming from large multinational environments, she
values the ability to move ideas forward and see impact more directly. “You
have more possibility to influence decisions,” she says. “You don’t have to go
through a lot of layers.”
Now expecting her second child, she speaks about
flexibility as something grounded in trust rather than policy. “There’s
definitely room for mothers to be heard,” she says. And there’s room for real
life. “As long as the job is done, you’re not micromanaged."
She remembers International Women’s
Day at school in Hungary - handmade cards, small gifts, flowers.
Now, recognition looks different. It’s
the freedom to contribute and to grow.
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