Advancing Gender Equality in the Mobility Industry

In 2021, India saw a shift in the gender ratio, with approximately 1,020 women for every 1,000 men, a significant workforce pool that could be leveraged for a country with ambitions to become a global manufacturing hub. Proving Gender equality is not just a moral imperative, but also a strategic imperative for the mobility industry. By harnessing women's talents and perspectives, we can drive innovation, boost productivity, and pave the way for a more prosperous future for everyone.?

As the discourse on gender equality and women empowerment gains momentum, there is increasing recognition of its role in driving economic growth and societal progress, making it a crucial component of global development agendas. Despite advancements in various industries like Healthcare (65% female) and consumer service (52% female), gender disparity persists in the Mobility industry worldwide with only 30% workforce being female, impeding its potential.?

This newsletter delves into the significance of gender equality in the automotive and aerospace industries, exploring the challenges, opportunities, and strategies for fostering a more inclusive and diverse workforce.

Current Landscape

India's economic journey from a USD 2 trillion economy in 2014 to surpassing the USD 3.75 trillion mark has been fueled by the automotive and aerospace industries, contributing 7.1% and 5% to the GDP respectively in the year 2023. These industries employed over 19 million and 4 million individuals respectively during the same period. With the implementation of the 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat Scheme,' the opportunities have increased multifold. As India inches towards becoming a global manufacturing hub, with 25% of GDP expected to come from manufacturing by 2025, projections indicate significant growth. By 2030, India is expected to be the manufacturing hub for the global market with its capacity increasing to $1 Trillion, and to $20 Trillion by 2047.

However, despite its economic prowess, India's automotive and aerospace workplaces face a gender gap, with women representing only around 20% of the total workforce. The gender gap emphasizes the imperative for initiatives to promote gender diversity in the workplace and ensure inclusive growth of opportunities for all individuals in the mobility industry.

Challenges?

As we strive for gender diversity in the automotive and aerospace sectors, it is essential to confront the challenges ahead. By identifying and addressing these obstacles, we pave the way for inclusive growth and competitive excellence in this critical sector.

1. Societal norms: Social standards that limit women's and girls' potential are deeply ingrained in the culture. We have observed people discriminating against each other based on their perspectives. These perspectives crop from the way people are brought up, their geographic locations, and the exposure they had in life in general.?

2. Unconscious bias: The discrimination is wide and open be it domestic or professional spheres. All of this leads to hindrances in active participation and advancement of the women workforce. Women encounter bias in employment due to societal expectations surrounding marriage, pregnancy, and family responsibilities. These stereotypes unjustly impact their career prospects in manufacturing, hindering gender equality in the workforce.

3. Limited access to skill development: Women often face barriers to accessing skill-building, crucial for mastering the technical competencies required in workspace roles due to socio-economic constraints. Despite some government initiatives, significant challenges persist in ensuring equal access to employment opportunities for women.

However, in the last few years, we have seen companies like Ola Electric and Tata Steel take the lead to empower women with a sharp focus on skill building. Ola Electric built a female-centric assembly line at Hosur. Tata Steel hired women to operate earthmovers at their mines at West Bokaro and Naomundi.?

4. Limited positions in the industry?

In our experience reflecting on numerous industrial events, we have observed a lack of women representation in both automotive & aerospace industries. For instance, in corporate meetings, women at Procurabl often find themselves as the lone female presence. The women who do come to such meetings are either from IT, HR, or Marketing divisions. And again 80% of the women we have met are at the lower positions in the organization. We have seldom seen anyone leading? Engineering, Design, Business, or handling Operations or Purchase Departments.?

Despite this, women like those at Procurabl demonstrate resilience and innovation, showcasing the significant impact women can have in roles such as manufacturing. These experiences emphasize the importance of embracing diverse perspectives for organizational excellence.?

Why Women?

Within India, more women than ever are shattering the glass ceiling and holding prominent roles. Especially when we are seeing a disruptive change happening in the automotive and aerospace industries. And this needs different and diverse talent to meet today's challenges and customer expectations. Moreover, we have also seen that when organizations have a good proportion of female employees they exhibit higher levels of customer empathy, profitability, and social consciousness.

Ninad Kashid our founder adds that -

Procurabl has always been proud to offer equal opportunities and is dedicated to creating a welcoming and diverse work environment. One of Procurabl’s top priorities is gender equality, and all of its businesses constantly look for individuals who have a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. Promoting gender equality is a moral and strategic obligation for everyone at Procurabl.

Some of the key aspects that women bring to any workplace are highlighted below by our founding team members -?

Wilson Tiru emphasizes the value of diverse perspectives in problem-solving,

Women and men are fundamentally different—not better, nor worse. As a result, they bring unique perspectives from their experiences to the discussion. Having a variety of perspectives when faced with problems leads to creative solutions.

?A woman’s soft skills to prioritize well and multitask while being organized from a young age are invaluable skills in fast-paced workplaces. Vaibhav Kohli adds

Women come with emotional intelligence and soft skills to prioritise work. These traits help in delivering robust outcomes, ultimately improving productivity and boosting the bottom line

Women also bring a high level of diligence to operations, complementing the industry's drive for excellence. Their meticulous work ethic enhances harmony & quality, making them valuable assets in any setting.

The Changemakers

Here’s to applauding the women we know who are relentlessly working towards making their workplaces and the planet a better place for the next generations. Here are the changemakers in our industries who are leading by example to shape the workplaces in the new India.?

Amisha Agarwal who leads everything marketing at Procurabl, comes from a diverse experience of working at Sports Tech, Ed Tech, and now supply chain tech at Procurabl. In the past year, she has created numerous opportunities for Procurabl, and while at it she is an active member at eChai Ventures Pune Chapter promoting women's entrepreneurship. Recently she along with Niyati, her batchmate published a case study about Zomato’s Menstrual Leave Policy in Pearson Publication’s Human Resource Management Book (17th Edition).?

Some of the women that we are aware of making a difference in the industry are Ranjita Ravi (Co-Founder - Orxa Energies ), Sonam Motwani (Founder - Karkhana.io ), Gayatree Kamerkar (Head of Business Development, DefSpace Technologies ), Prabhjot Kaur (Founder - Esmito ), Varsha Kukreti (CEO amosAerospace ), Harnoor Singh (Co-Founder EVage Motors ) and so many more, but still a handful of them.

About Us

Procurabl is a forward-thinking supply chain tech company committed to driving innovation, sustainability, and diversity in the supply chain. With a dedication to excellence and inclusivity, Procurabl is leading the charge toward a more equitable and prosperous future for all. It's time to move beyond admiration and start implementing the lessons from our journey toward gender diversity and inclusion at our workplaces in the automotive and aerospace industries.

Learn more about us at? https://www.procurabl.com