Despite progress in achieving gender diversity across various industries, the Indian automotive sector remains largely male-dominated, especially in leadership roles.
18 Mar 2025 | 781 Views | By Prerna Lidhoo
While significant strides in gender diversity have been achieved across many industries, the automotive sector seems to have its brakes slammed hard, when it comes to women’s representation. Consider this: While women make up 36% of the workforce in the IT-enabled services (ITeS) sector and 22% in the consumer products ...
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While significant strides in gender diversity have been achieved across many industries, the automotive sector seems to have its brakes slammed hard, when it comes to women’s representation. Consider this: While women make up 36% of the workforce in the IT-enabled services (ITeS) sector and 22% in the consumer products sector, their participation in automotive original equipment manufacturing (OEM) stands at a mere 10%, according to a report by Deloitte.
Even more alarming is the scarcity of women in leadership roles, with less than 3% of CXO positions held by women across India’s top 11 automakers. These automakers command more than 85% of the market share in the passenger vehicle, commercial vehicle, and two-wheeler segments, underscoring the pressing need for the industry to accelerate efforts towards inclusivity and break longstanding barriers.
Rajat Mahajan, Partner at Deloitte India, said that while it is encouraging to see more women in leadership roles within the automotive sector compared to previous years, the industry still lags significantly behind others such as FMCG, consumer durables, and financial services. "We still have a long way to go," he adds, emphasising that despite many companies complying with the mandate to have at least one female director on their corporate boards, true gender diversity remains a distant goal.
The Legacy of Male-Dominated Shop Floors
The under-representation of women in the automotive sector can be traced back to a historical imbalance in the talent pipeline. Madhumita Agrawal, Founder and CEO of Bengaluru-based electric two-wheeler startup Oben Electric, recalls the challenges she faced as a woman entrepreneur in traditionally male-dominated sectors like R&D and manufacturing.
Reflecting on her journey, she shared, "In my first startup, which was focused on R&D services—a niche and tough sector—I often encountered questions like, ‘Is there any technical guy joining the meeting?’ To which I had to assert, ‘No, I’m the one handling everything.’” This skepticism didn’t disappear when she transitioned to manufacturing and electric vehicles (EVs), despite having six to seven years of experience in the EV space. "Even now, I still get asked if someone else will be joining the meeting,” she said.
Agrawal highlighted the persistent reluctance she encounters from investors and vendors alike—an attitude rooted in an industry where male representation has been the norm for so long.
According to Rahul Bharti, Executive Officer, Corporate Affairs at Maruti Suzuki India, lower participation of women in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) field two decades ago, resulted in a compromised pool of talent in the industry. “About two decades ago, there was lower women participation in STEM, which led to a compromised talent pipeline. There was also a perception of physically-demanding roles, limited flexibility, and unconscious biases against manufacturing roles, which led to lower participation of women."
While these challenges have been longstanding, there are signs that the wheels of change are slowly starting to turn. Maruti Suzuki has a 27% women representation on its board of directors. “These are women of global stature, insights, and perspectives. As a company, we have created suitable opportunities for women to grow and shine in tough roles like leading logistics, machine learning, digital interface, among others,” Bharti said.
Maruti Suzuki’s Vice President of Logistics, who oversees the despatch of over 14,000 trailer trucks and 42 trains, is a woman. A decade ago this was unthinkable. “Women have been actively contributing to a variety of roles that were, for years, typical male bastions. Logistics, automation, design, testing and inspection of new components, colour and material finish, vehicle testing are some of those profiles. We now have 93 women apprentices deployed on assembly lines at Gurgaon and Manesar vehicle plants,” Bharti said.
Asha Kharga, Chief Customer and Brand Officer and Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra Group, highlights a fundamental challenge in advancing gender diversity in the automotive industry: the limited talent pool of women with mechanical engineering backgrounds. "Only 7.6% of those pursuing mechanical engineering are women, compared to 70% in software and IT services— nearly a tenfold difference," she explained. This stark imbalance makes it difficult for the industry to attract more women into technical roles.
Kharga believes that as the automotive sector becomes more tech-driven, with a greater focus on software and digital capabilities, there is an opportunity to bridge this gap. However, overcoming cultural barriers remains crucial. "One major factor is the lack of visible role models. You rarely see women at the top—leadership is still largely maledominated," she noted.
Reflecting on her own experience, Kharga recalled her first Group Executive Board (GEB) meeting where she was the only woman in a room full of men. However, she pointed out that intentional leadership commitment can make a difference. "It can't be bottom-up for an agenda like this. Leadership must make a deliberate commitment to creating an inclusive culture," she asserted. Mahindra Group's recent progress underscores this point. "Last year, 87% of senior leadership hires at our corporate office were women," Kharga revealed.
With women now making up 35% of the corporate workforce, she believes that such intentional hiring practices are essential for reshaping the industry’s gender dynamics. The automotive industry is beginning to recognise that as the number of female customers rises—what Deloitte refers to as the “SHEconomy”—there is an urgent need to have more women in leadership roles. "If women's participation in the auto sector is growing, it's essential to have significantly more female leaders within organisations," said Mahajan.
EV: A New Avenue for Women in Auto
Over the past two decades, the automotive industry has undergone a noticeable transformation, particularly in the last five years. Subburathinam P, Chief Operating Officer, Staffing at TeamLease Services Staffing, highlighted that the rise of Industry 4.0 has been a game-changer for manufacturing, including the automotive sector. "With tech-driven manufacturing units and robotic processes taking over, most of the physically demanding and unskilled tasks on the shop floor have been replaced by automation," he explained. This shift has also opened up more opportunities for women, especially in the EV domain. Many organisations are increasingly preferring to hire women for precisionbased roles, recognising their skills and reliability.
According to Subburathinam, one of the factors driving this preference is the lower absenteeism rates observed among women compared to men. Additionally, the push for diversity has made hiring women a strategic priority for many companies. From a hiring perspective, Subburathinam noted that attrition rates tend to be lower among women in what have traditionally been male-dominated industries.
"Women are often seen as the secondary income earners in families, which translates into higher commitment levels and lower attrition percentages," he said. This trend, combined with the demand for precision skills and diversity, is gradually reshaping the workforce in the automotive sector. As automotive companies pivot to these high-tech areas, the demand for skills beyond traditional mechanical roles is opening doors for women professionals. “The shift towards new powertrains and technologies and software integration has created new opportunities in design, R&D, data analytics, and digital enterprises. Going ahead, our company plans to increase the women workforce across production facilities, including new projects,” Bharti said.
More women are taking on technical and revenueimpacting roles, moving beyond traditional functions like HR and marketing; and this change is particularly visible in new-age startups and large MNCs, where women are increasingly leading key functions, Agrawal, said. "The biggest change we're seeing is more women stepping into core technical roles—not just peripheral functions. This is especially true as the auto industry transitions to electric vehicles, automation, and software-defined systems," Agrawal said.
She believes that this shift is less about capability—since women have always been equipped with the necessary skills—and more about breaking long-standing mindsets that have traditionally seen manufacturing as a male-dominated domain. Agrawal argues that the real transformation lies in a mindset change, where women are confidently taking on challenges in hardcore technical domains.
"If I start believing that I am equal, then I should be able to take on the same jobs that men do," she said. She also highlighted the demanding nature of the business, especially in a highly competitive industry like automotive. "You are in a business—B for business, B for brutal," Agrawal remarked. "There are no excuses. If my child is sick, I can't afford to step back. I might have to work late into the night to get things done." This unflinching commitment, according to Agrawal, is what’s driving more women to break stereotypes and carve out their space in the industry.
Yeshwinder Patial, Senior Director, Human Resources, JSW MG Motor India said that women bring diverse perspectives to the automotive industry—across all functions, be it operations, commercial roles, or front-end sales. "Women bring a diversity of thought that enriches decision-making and problem-solving across the board," he said. However, Patial pointed out a stark contrast between traditional manufacturing setups and newer startups, when it comes to gender diversity in leadership.
"In startups, you’ll find a good number of women leaders because these are newer organisations often led by young entrepreneurs," he explained. The leadership age in startups, typically hovers around the early 30s, fostering a more progressive and inclusive environment. In contrast, legacy organisations in core sectors like manufacturing, which have been around for decades— sometimes even a century—face a different challenge. "These companies have well-established processes and a leadership pipeline where most leaders are 45 and older," Patial noted.
The entrenched systems and longstanding hierarchies in these organisations make it harder to accelerate gender diversity at the top. To truly close the gender gap, Patial argues that traditional sectors must rethink their approaches to leadership development and inclusivity. "It’s not just about hiring more women but creating an ecosystem that enables them to thrive and lead," he added.
From Tokenism to True Inclusion
Kharga describes Mahindra Group’s progress on gender diversity as nothing short of remarkable, especially when compared to her previous experiences in the FMCG and banking sectors. "Just to put things in perspective, Mahindra's overall female representation has nearly doubled—from about 5% to 9.3%—in just two years," she highlighted.
This growth is even more pronounced in specific pockets of the organisation. For instance, at the Mahindra Research Valley in Chennai, female representation has jumped from 3% to 13%, while the Chakan factory has seen an increase to 15%. In some cases, the transformation is striking: "Our paint shop is 100% women, the assembly line for tractors is 50% women, and in electric vehicles, 30% of the shop floor workforce is female," Kharga noted.
She emphasised that this progress is not about hitting short-term targets but building a sustainable ecosystem for women. "It's been a very deliberate move, with a long-term perspective. It’s not about bringing in women now and then struggling with high attrition later," she explained. Interestingly, Mahindra has achieved these gains without setting official diversity targets—a conscious choice. "We’ve decided not to have any metrics because it can undermine the purpose," Kharga said.
Setting fixed targets in an industry that starts from a small base, she argued, risks women being perceived merely as diversity hires rather than as competent professionals in their own right. "It can inadvertently put women on the back foot," she remarked. For Kharga, the focus remains on fostering an inclusive culture where women are hired for their skills and potential, and not just to meet quotas. "It’s about changing mindsets and building a truly equitable workplace," she concluded.
While the industry’s efforts to improve gender diversity are commendable, the road to true inclusion is still long and winding. The scarcity of women in leadership roles, in particular, highlights the need for a more concerted push. Diversity initiatives that go beyond token representation and focus on mentorship, skill development, and unbiased recruitment practices could play a pivotal role in bridging the gap.
Kharga emphasised that achieving gender diversity is about being intentional at every stage of the hiring process. "It starts right at the beginning—are we ensuring that our candidate slate has an equal number of resumes from women, as it does from men?" she explains. Without this balance, the pool of potential hires becomes limited. "The last thing you want is to interview only male candidates, because that narrows the field right from the outset," she adds.
After ensuring a balanced pool, the final hiring decision rests purely on merit. Kharga highlights that Mahindra's progress is evident across various leadership roles within the Auto and Farm Sector (AFS). "Take Suman Mishra, for instance—she's the CEO of the MLMM business. Then there's Ami Goda, CFO of the farm business; Anusha Ramchandran, business head for the farm machinery segment; and Riti, who now leads the EV business," she listed. Additionally, Manjari heads a core business unit, and Meenakshi has taken over as CHRO.
"None of these women were brought in with a diversity agenda—they earned their spots through a rigorous evaluation of skills and competence, alongside male candidates," Kharga asserted. She insisted that the focus is not about labelling roles as male or female but about ensuring that every opportunity has a balanced slate of candidates. "It's about identifying the right fits naturally, without preconceived notions of gender suitability," she explained.
She added that it's not about fulfilling quotas but about recognising competence and providing a genuinely inclusive environment for women leaders to thrive. For this, addressing cultural and workplace biases will be crucial. As companies increasingly realise the business benefits of diversity—including innovation, customer insight, and financial performance—the hope is that the industry will shift from mere compliance to a genuine commitment to gender equity. Mahajan said that while the number of women in senior leadership roles within the auto industry remains limited, there is a deliberate effort to improve gender diversity at the campus and entry levels. However, a significant drop-off occurs as women progress through their careers.
"It's not that the entire auto industry is uniformly hiring 50% women across the board," Mahajan explains. "But we have observed that many organisations are increasingly employing women on the shop floor—and it makes business sense." Mahajan highlighted a key reason behind this trend: "The productivity of women in repeatable tasks is often higher than that of men. Their focus and concentration levels are remarkable because they aim to complete their work efficiently and move on to other responsibilities," he says.
As a result, the proportion of women on the shop floor has been rising at a much faster rate compared to management levels. In terms of numbers, Mahajan notes that the percentage of women employed on the shop floor varies widely— ranging from 15% to 20% in traditional OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and between 20% to 35% in newer or less conventional OEMs in the Indian market. “At the entry level, efforts are being made to bring in more women. However, the challenge lies in the midmanagement level, where we see a significant dropout rate," Mahajan said.
Patial said that JSW MG Motor India's vision is to achieve a balanced gender ratio. However, he highlighted that this goal should extend beyond just white-collar roles, where most companies traditionally focus their gender diversity efforts. Unlike many organisations that overlook blue-collar positions — those on the shop floor — Patial stressed the importance of ensuring female representation across all roles, functions, and subsections.
While the aim is not to enforce a strict 50-50 ratio in every department, especially in smaller teams, the objective is to promote an inclusive environment where women have equal opportunities in every aspect of the organisation. Maruti, too, has implemented a series of targeted measures to improve gender diversity and support women employees across all levels. The company has focused on recruiting more women in technical roles and grooming them for leadership positions through mentoring and training programs.
To promote equitable growth opportunities, it introduced inclusive work policies, including flexible working hours, work-from-home options, and retention grants. According to Deloitte, the gender diversity ratio in India’s automotive OEM sector stands at a mere 9.7%, with the situation worsening at senior levels, where many companies have no women in leadership positions. While support functions show relatively better gender diversity compared to plant functions, it emphasises that the goal should go beyond merely increasing representation.
Creating an inclusive work environment is crucial—this includes providing adequate support for women pre, during, and post-maternity, facilitating the return of mothers to the workforce, and offering leadership development programs tailored for women. Kharga remains optimistic about the industry's progress, confident that meaningful change is on the horizon.
“Seeing so many talented women stepping into influential roles today is truly inspiring. In the next five to 10 years, I have no doubt that many of them will be leading from the front, thanks to the steps we're taking now to identify and prepare them for the future,” she said. Kharga’s optimism about the industry's progress is both palpable and grounded in a vision of a more inclusive future. The road ahead is long,demanding not just policies but an intentional cultural shift. However, progress is undeniably in motion, bringing the vision of a more balanced industry closer with each step.