Women Engineers Follow in Mum and Dad’s Footsteps

Carla Fernández de Liger might only be two years old, but if family tradition is anything to go by then a future in engineering awaits.

Mum Nerea Fernández de Liger and her husband Carlos are both trained engineers who met at our assembly plant in Valencia, Spain, where they still work. So too, were Nerea’s father José and her mother Maria – one of the first female engineers to work on the assembly line there.

Nerea’s mother sadly passed in 2020. But she was an inspiration to her daughter – showing that gender need not be an obstacle when it came to choosing a career that has led her to become a supervisor in Material, Planning and Logistics, where her mother also worked. 

Today, on International Women in Engineering Day, we are celebrating those who have followed in their family’s footsteps as well as highlighting the work that we are doing to bring girls into engineering through dedicated programs and initiatives in Germany, Spain and the UK. 

These initiatives include Girls’ Days, internships programs, mentoring, outreach to local schools and apprenticeship placements. 

Nerea is one among a number of our female engineers who have now picked up the baton to offer inspiration to the next generation of women. Here are just a few more:

Kathrin Ruegenberg, body engineer, Germany

“I remember enjoying many family events at the plant with my father. He also actively helped me with science and technology subjects. When I was looking for an internship, my father encouraged me to do this at the plant, as I would come into contact with many different professions. I quickly set my sights on engineering and the do2technik program got me on that path.” 

Laura Florentin Dobreanu, product quality engineer, Romania

“Both of my parents were engineers, with my father working at the Oltcit plant in Craiova, which later became the Ford plant. It was a natural step for me and my brother to follow our parents into engineering, with both of us showing more affinity for science and mathematics than other subjects at school. I now work in the quality department, just as my father did.”  

Laura Tudela Oltra, higher engineering apprentice, Spain 

“My father started working when he was 20 and had a workshop at our home. As he worked the nightshift, the two of us often spent the afternoons together, fixing bikes and tinkering with machines. I currently work in camshaft machining and am studying Industrial Electronics and Automation Engineering with the goal to work as an engineer at Ford.”  

Mihaela Dana Toma, process engineer, Romania

“As a child, I set about repairing things in the home, which included putting in a new gasket to fix a leaking drain. I even took my mother’s iron apart and put it together again piece by piece to learn how it worked. I then stepped up to become my father’s sidekick when repairing cars and later followed him into engineering to work at the plant in Craiova.” 

Molly Starkes, higher engineering apprentice, the UK

“Ford in the UK runs many initiatives that include high school girls visiting the production plants. I participated in one of those days as a teenager, and this, along with my father having worked there, inspired me to seek an engineering career, which I began when I was 16. I’m currently working towards an engineering degree at the University of Warwick.”

Alexandra Walker, powertrain quality manager, the UK

“My grandfather worked at the plant in Leamington Spa in the 1940s and my father was a lecturer in engineering who taught many apprentices from Ford. I started as a vacation trainee at the chassis and axle plant in Swansea 33 years ago and I’ve long been involved in initiatives to bring girls into engineering.”

Daniela Arts, manufacturing engineer, Germany 

“I visited the plant often as a child, and my father was excited to show me the production areas and cars. Working there was the one thing I wanted and it was the only job application I wrote. This was for the do2technik dual study program that includes an apprenticeship, a bachelor’s degree, work experience and a potential job, which I got.”  

Nerea Fernández de Liger, shipping and receiving supervisor, Material, Planning and Logistics, Ford of Europe

“When I started studying engineering at the Learning Center, my father always dropped me off and picked me up, as it was close to his workplace. I was so embarrassed at the time, but now I feel so proud remembering it. Of all my memories, being at the retirement parties for my parents is the best, seeing how everyone gave them such a warm farewell.” 

Friederike Philipsenburg, Ford of Europe’s Women in Engineering Panel (whose father also worked at Ford). 

“It’s not just about encouraging girls to choose engineering. It’s also about empowering our women engineers to celebrate their achievements and appreciating all that we bring to automotive engineering and manufacturing, such as different perspectives and an enhanced sense of collaboration.”

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