Today is International Women’s Day, and on this important day, for the recognition of their rights, and in order to make women in this sector more visible, we wanted to take the opportunity to interview Alexia Alcaraz, head of the R&D&I laboratory at Labor Alimentaria, a company belonging to the holding company La Comarca Food Group.

LCFG is firmly committed to promoting women’s talent, which is why we have set ourselves the challenge of contributing to achieving real equality at a professional level and also in society.

Alexia Alcaraz Rubio, head of Labor Alimentaria’s R+D+i laboratory.

Alexia is part of a newly created team. Despite her youth, she is in charge of managing and supervising the excellence of the meat products, thanks to her dedication, commitment and daily effort.

To start the interview we would like to get to know you a little better and we would love to hear what motivated you to train and work in this sector.

My entry into the sector was fortuitous, although I was aware of the sector’s potential. I had heard about the La Comarca Meats company’s project and its great future projection and I wanted to be part of it. When the company created the laboratory in mid-2020, I became responsible for it thanks to my training.

As head of R&D&I at LCFG’s laboratory, tell us a bit about your day-to-day work. What does your job involve?

In the laboratory we carry out a microbiological and physical-chemical analysis of all the products that we market from LCFG to guarantee our customers the safety and innocuousness of our product. In addition, from our facilities, we support all research projects both internally and at customer level.

The meat sector is increasingly expanding the number of women among its professionals. What would you say are the biggest challenges facing women in the sector?

As is the case in many other sectors, access to positions of greater responsibility. In addition, women continue to play the main role in the reconciliation of work and family life. LCFG is aware of the importance of minimising these problems and is committed to equal opportunities for men and women.

As a scientist woman, have you ever felt conditioned by the fact that you are a woman in your career or professional training?

No, during my academic training and professional career I have never felt discriminated against as a woman. I have had the same challenges and the same opportunities as the rest of my colleagues.

We know that LCFG seeks to ensure the highest food safety and control of its products at the highest level. Taking this into account and seeing the great projection that is expected from your laboratory in terms of innovation. Do you plan to pursue any line of research in the future?

We are in the process of applying for a research project in which some universities in the Region of Murcia, such as the University of Murcia, will collaborate. This project will focus on improving the quality and food safety of our products.

Thanks to actions such as the introduction of new technologies and state-of-the-art facilities, La Comarca Food Group has one of the most automated plants in Europe. The sector today not only provides an equal, balanced and safe environment, but also encourages more measures for work-life balance.

Enhancing equality in all sectors is the best way to ensure competitiveness. Women represent 50% of the world’s talent and no sector can afford not to take advantage of it.

At LCFG we work to ensure real equality between our workers and to make our female workers visible, so that their example inspires young women and girls.