The third month of the year is International Women’s Month and its eighth day is celebrated as International Women’s Day the world over. This year, March 8 has a sharpened focus with the theme of ‘Embrace Equity’.
There is no better time than now to recognise and honour the amazing achievements of women across all spheres of life including the automotive industry, in India and worldwide.
The aim of the IWD 2023 ‘EmbraceEquity’ campaign is to get the world talking about why equal opportunities aren’t enough. People begin from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action. That’s just what Autocar Professional’s upcoming digital conference on March 9 on the theme of ‘Paving the Way for Higher Inclusion – Women To Watch’ aims to achieve.
India, which is currently the world’s fastest growing economy, is driving towards becoming a US$ 5 trillion economy. While a thriving automotive industry, encompassing component and vehicle manufacturing, is one of the many industries that will accelerate growth, there is ample scope to address the issue of inclusion of women in the sector’s workforce.
India Auto Inc, at present, contributes about 7% to the country’s GDP. With a domestic passenger vehicle market, which surpassed Japan to become No. 3 globally in CY2022, there is immense potential for accelerated growth. This path will be easier and more equitable if the participation of women in the organised workforce increases consistently. At present, women representation in the Indian automotive industry is barely 10%, much less than it is in developed economies. It is higher in other sectors like pharmaceutical and healthcare (11%) and information technology (28%).
The country has traditionally faced the challenge of women being restricted to less strenuous roles, with their limited participation particularly in manufacturing operations. However, Industry 4.0 and automation have transformed the shopfloor and many OEMs as well as ancillary suppliers are actively enabling higher inclusion of women in critical roles that form the foundation of the automotive industry.
A-Z of India Auto Inc
While India Auto Inc is driving in the right direction, there’s plenty more that can be achieved. Autocar Professional’s upcoming webinar features six stalwarts of the Indian and global automotive industry:
– Latha Chembrakalam, Head – Technical Centre India, Continental Automotive India
– Suman Mishra, CEO, Mahindra Last Mile Mobility
– Shraddha Suri Marwah, Chairperson & MD, Subros; and Vice-President, ACMA
– Sherry Vasa, Executive Vice-President & CHRO, Marelli
– Jyotsna Sanghi, Chairperson & MD, SGS Motors
– Pamela Tikku, Chief Business Office, ICAT
These dynamic women encompass the entire spectrum of the industry – from vehicle manufacturing to component development and supplies, vehicle testing as well as dealership management.
Each of them has experience aplenty of the challenges faced by the auto sector in achieving the goal of gender inclusivity. Autocar Professional’s upcoming virtual conference, which will be moderated by Hormazd Sorabjee, editor, Autocar India, and Mugdha Mishra, editor, WhatCar? India, is set to be an informative, solution-oriented discussion on some of these challenges and the measures to address them.
To participate in this exciting conference, register at https://bit.ly/3EX7pKZ
