March 8 is International Women’s Day
As Tata Steel moves towards its growth ambitions, it envisions stronger female workforce participation. The Company remains steadfast towards the goal to achieve 25% diversity in its workforce by 2025.
Women commanding the future of work is an inevitable outcome of the long societal evolution we have witnessed. There is no field today where women have not made their mark. The trend is only going to intensify. The Company is at an important juncture where it has the responsibility to prepare itself for the transformation and make the workplace more conducive and inclusive for its women employees. It is a crucial step in our collective efforts to make Tata Steel culturally future-ready. The task is challenging as the steel industry, by its nature, presents several cultural and social bottlenecks. The structural challenges get aggravated by stereotypes entrenched in our social fabric.
Tata Steel, however, remains resolute and has risen to the challenges by introducing pioneering practices and policies. The Company has increased the intake of women in its Management Trainee and Trade Apprentice batches. Initiatives such as ‘Women of Mettle’, a unique scholarship programme, wherein women engineering students are provided with scholarships, internships, and job opportunities with the Company, are developed to create a talent pipeline of young female officers for the organisation. The Company identifies and grooms high-potential female officers for leadership roles through mentoring programmes and leadership development workshops called ‘Engage’ and ‘Ignite’.
Under the ‘Flames of Fire’ initiative, Tata Steel recruited 23 women to create the first-ever crew of female firefighters in the steel industry in India. Through its ‘Women@Mining’ initiative, Tata Steel became the first company in India to deploy women in all mine shifts. Since September 1, 2019, women have been deployed on all three shifts at the OMQ Division.
Recruitment of female officers in the maintenance and mineral processing sections was also done to support this initiative. So far, Tata Steel has onboarded 73 women as heavy earth moving machinery (HEMM) operators – a major step in breaking mental barriers and increasing women participation in the workforce. The Tejaswini 2.0 programme has been set up to upskill women for such roles.
Many policies have been put in place to foster a culture of inclusion within Tata Steel such as Agile Working Models, with ‘absolute work from home’ opportunities and other flexible work models, introduction of ‘Raahat’ (menstrual leave for its female employees), Take Two Policy (a recruitment programme, to encourage female professionals on a career break or otherwise, to restart their career with Tata Steel), gender-neutral adoption assistance policy and a policy enabling women to return to the workforce after any period of leave. The Company has launched women empowerment programmes on safety and security, health awareness etc., through forums like SWATI (Steel Women Aspirational Team Initiatives).
Though the share of women in the workforce is relatively small, Tata Steel acknowledges the contribution its women employees have made in its glorious legacy. The organisation also knows that the current equilibrium is going to be disrupted in the foreseeable future, as more women join the workforce. Tata Steel is not only prepared for the new normal but is determined to shape it.
