Auto Inc is pulling out all stops as it looks to reintegrate women who took a break back into the workforce.
15 Mar 2025 | 3114 Views | By Radhika Dave
Women who have taken a career break can now find it easier to re-enter the workforce, as auto companies are offering initiatives across levels right from the shop floor to the C-suite level to enable them to rejoin work. That's the feedback from various companies that Autocar Professional has spoken ...
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Women who have taken a career break can now find it easier to re-enter the workforce, as auto companies are offering initiatives across levels right from the shop floor to the C-suite level to enable them to rejoin work. That's the feedback from various companies that Autocar Professional has spoken to.
Incentives are being offered in terms of flexible working hours, referral programs and broadening skillsets. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has launched a Signature Returnship Program (for all Mahindra group companies) offering full-time roles for women on a career break, in January 2025.
The women go through a 30-60-90 day induction plan, supported by extensive Group Corporate Office and Business induction, internal and external speaker sessions, and a Mentorship & Buddy program with M&M leaders to smoothly integrate them into the workforce. It also has a program for women who want to return to work after maternity leave. Mothers of Mahindra supports women employees on maternity break to seamlessly return to work.
Women returning from maternity receive comprehensive support until their child turns 3 years old, including an additional 6 months of flexible working hours and 24 months of hybrid work mode. A Baby Care Allowance of Rs 5,000 per month is provided for children up to 2 years old. For essential work-related overnight domestic travel, women can travel with their child and a caregiver, with approval from senior leaders.
They also have the option to take up to 1 year of unpaid leave for child support. These elements enable women to smoothly transition back to work from maternity leave. "While we have just launched SOAR in January 2025 and have launched Mothers of Mahindra policy in Sept 2023, over the years, through structured mentorship, targeted upskilling, and flexible work options, we have observed a marked increase in women's representation and performance in our auto and farm sectors," noted Rohit Thakur, Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Auto and Farm Sector (AFS), Mahindra and Mahindra.
Tata Motors, too, has implemented inclusive policies and launched its flagship 'Kaushalya' upskilling initiative for women. At the group level, the Tata Second Careers, Inspiring Possibilities (SCIP) platform, launched in 2008, supports women who have taken a career break, in reentering the workforce. Another group-level programme, the 'Comeback Companion,' is designed to help women employees readjust to the corporate environment after a career break, ensuring a smooth transition back into their professional roles.
Additionally, Tata Motors offers flexible work hours, work-from-home options, and part-time work, to help women balance their professional and personal lives. It also focuses on retaining and developing its existing women workforce through special interventions like empowHER, which addresses unique women's needs across life stages.
Sitaram Kandi, Tata Motors' CHRO said that the company had seen a significant increase in women's participation on the shop floor, growing from less than 4% to 11% in just a few years. It had over 5,000 women employees working as shop floor technicians. At the Pune plant, their Premium SUV Assembly Shop is entirely operated by women, with 1,200 employees. The company has introduced 100% women apprentice batches in Lucknow, Pantnagar and Dharwad. Additionally, more than 3,000 women shop floor technicians are assembling commercial vehicles across Pune, Lucknow, Pantnagar, and Jamshedpur.
As of February 2025, women constituted about 11% of Tata Motors' workforce, with a significant share in all management positions, including junior, middle, and top management. Approximately 25% of the new hires on the shop floors are women.
Easing The Transition Via Electrification
Meanwhile, the participation of women in the auto industry is also likely to go up because of technological shifts, particularly due to the increasing ‘electronification’ of the industry – which leads to a proliferation of IT-related roles in this sector.
TeamLease, in a recent employment outlook report, noted that the increasing role of electric parts and software is creating robust demand for specialised roles such as robotics experts and software engineers in the industry. The NITI Aayog too estimates that the Indian EV industry's expansion catalyses job creation, generating approximately 5 million direct and indirect employment opportunities by the end of the next decade.
This can help level out the playing field, especially for women, as electrification takes away the arduous physical labor, as machines are integrated into daily operations, especially on shop floors. Companies too are preparing for a future-ready workforce, with an increasing focus on electrification. For instance, last year, Sitaram Kandi, who was then Vice President – HR, PVs and Electric Vehicles, Tata Motors, said Tata Motors planned to equip 50% of its workforce with new age auto tech capabilities over the next five years.
Schaeffler India is encouraging female participation in its STEP Center batches, focusing on increasing the workforce in manufacturing and the electric vehicle (EV) industry through skill development programs in EV technologies, Mechatronics, and Auto Electricals. Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Founder and CEO of electric two-wheeler Kinetic Green notes that the EV sector will 'shake up the industry,' with more electrical and electronic parts, more software-led innovation and an easier "asset-light" manufacturing ecosystem.
She adds that electrification will create demand for new talent with these new skills and she would like women to 'grab this opportunity to lead the way in this EV transition.' She added that they can take up operating and leadership roles in the EV sector and anticipates that the percentage of women in the auto industry can rise dramatically with this transition.
"In recent years, there has been more awareness regarding the need for a transformative shift in the traditionally male-dominated automotive and manufacturing sector, with emphasis on higher women participation in the sector, not just in the non-core areas like finance or HR but in the core areas of R&D and manufacturing. I believe that this is now possible, with Electric vehicles taking center stage," Motwani said.
Her company has established a 100% women-led assembly line for the E-Luna. Motwani envisions a future (for her company) where 40% of mid and senior management positions are held by women. "We have currently reached a milestone of 30% women at assembly lines at our manufacturing plant, and Kinetic Green aspires for 50% female workforce across its 2- and 3-wheeler and golf cart assembly lines by the end of 2025, reaffirming its resolve to champion women in not just the traditional functions of finance and marketing but in the core technical and manufacturing roles," Motwani noted.
Reaching the 50% mark for women's representation is something other companies are also aspiring for. JSW MG Motor India also envisions increasing women's representation to 50% and has implemented a scheme 'Drive Her Back', focused on re-establishing women back into the workspace. This is for women who took a break for various reasons.
"The initiative envisions increasing women's representation to 50%, and currently at 41% we are inching toward our target which has been set since the establishment of a manufacturing facility at Halol," noted Yeshwinder Patial, Senior Director- Human Resources, JSW MG Motor India. JSW MG Motor India has seen 120+ successful hires in the system via 'Drive Her Back'.