JSW MG Motor’s Halol plant has a 34% female workforce, paving the way for gender equality in manufacturing

When Harpreet from Punjab got her Electronic and Communication diploma, little did she know that a place in the automobile plant was waiting for her. With a Diploma in Automotive Training (DAT) and hands-on training at the plant, she is now a prominent worker on the shop floor.

Khusboo Patel for long thought that working in automobile plants is not for girls. Breaking the notion, she now manages the thermal issues in smart workstations, efficiently using Cobots to prevent leakage. Besides her education, it was the on-the-job training that helped her find a way with machines.

A traditional Rajput woman, Javanika not only found a new calling but also changed the mindset of her entire village as she stepped into the automobile sector, where she now manages the second shift. She got training which helped her acquire a professional approach.

These are only a few examples as around 34% of the total employees at JSW MG Motor Halol plant are women, who are making their strong presence felt by displaying their agility and an intrinsic creative streak. The company motto is based on three key pillars–innovation, diversity, and community. Around 40% of the women workforce manage the assembly lines that manufacture Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles and Electric Vehicles (EVs).
When the automaker started the recruitment drive, its primary objective was to embrace inclusivity with a strong intent to achieve gender parity and have a 50% women workforce in the coming years.With the support of the Government of Gujarat, the Halol plant made several amendments to state rules of the Factories Act that helped in providing opportunities to women. The only precondition that the state had was the safety of women.

The idea of deploying women in the plant was met with a hitch from the local villagers, who were apprehensive about the safety of their daughters, most of whom never worked in an automobile company. The auto giant introduced women-centric guidelines which included ferrying them home at night, pregnancy leaves, Drive Her Back (DHB) initiative to bring qualified women back into the system after a sabbatical and creche facility at the workplace to encourage new mothers to work guilt-free.
Ravi Mittal, director, Manufacturing, points to the company’s focus on employing women from nearby villages. “The assembly process in Halol doesn’t demand muscle work as it is ergo safe. The equipment and the systems are safe to handle, which makes the involvement of women simpler. After onboarding women, we realised training them was convenient as most of them were process-oriented, which led to error reduction. We also noticed 5-6% first output rate efficiency.”
Managing to hire graduates, fresh pass-outs from ITI and students with diplomas in automotive technology (DAT), the new entrants underwent step-by-step, hands-on training. The company is giving an edge to girls with a technical bent and has completed ITI courses in trades such as fitting, diesel mechanics, automotive, electrical work, and welding, which have been male-dominated fields. “We started with 22% women onboarded at the shopfloors, which has now increased to 37% and we hope to reach the 50% target in a few years,” adds Mittal.
Yashwinder Patial, senior director of HR at JSW MG Motor India says besides managing the shop floors, 33% of female engineers are working in managerial/leadership roles. Moving forward to achieve gender parity and carbon neutrality, the auto giant has a massive focus on the expansion of EVs. MG has collaborated with IITs for several EV research projects, which are finding a prominent place in its R&D wing.
“We have collaborated with as many as 42 colleges wherein 1000 students have been included in several projects that involve EVs, and integration of emerging technologies including IoT and AI. Several interns from various colleges/EdTechs are being hired for an 11-month project, which often gets converted into PPO,” says Patial.
Under the MG Nurture initiative, which aims to expedite skill development and foster technical upskilling to bridge the industry-academia gap, the Connected Autonomous Electric Vehicles (CAEV) programme has been introduced in several engineering colleges, ITI and government polytechnics. “The automobile sector will soon see a major shift towards EV, which demands training of manpower and research growth. However, there will be a demand for hybrid technology and upskilling of mid-management workers. Young engineers need to take specialised courses to find entry-level jobs in EV manufacturing units. The changing technology will also stress the need to relearn newer technologies,” adds Patial.