Indian women professionals are keen on playing a larger role in operations, manufacturing and engineering service sectors, and want to participate in the Make in India initiative, according to a recent study conducted by GE and Avtar. The findings of the study were revealed at GE’s Belong 2021 conclave.
Make in India is an initiative by the Indian government which encourages companies to build and develop products locally. The research highlighted that India has a pool of female talent keen on taking up bigger roles in operations, manufacturing and engineering services. The study also found that around 84.4 per cent of men felt the industry would actually benefit from more female participation.
When asked what inhibits women’s growth and participation in these sectors, 63 per cent of women said it was undermining women’s abilities with unfounded stereotypes and 59 per cent said gender bias in appraisals. According to Avtar, these sectors have only 12 per cent female participation.
On the other hand, 54 per cent of men believed that women’s growth in these sectors was impeded by restrictive government regulation. 51 per cent of male participants blamed lack of support from supervisors.
Only 10 per cent of women identified sexual harassment at the workplace as the reason behind the lack of female participation, indicating that women feel safe working in these sectors.
“The research insights give clear indicators in terms of possibilities in the sector, to help women talent plan, prepare, and build purposeful careers in this fast-evolving, hi-tech industrial sector. If each of the large employers takes steps in this direction, more women will be encouraged to embrace STEM education and pursue careers in the manufacturing and engineering sector,” Saundarya Rajesh, Founder-President, Avtar said.
The study emphasised the need for more initiatives to boost women’s employment in the manufacturing, operations, and engineering services sectors. There is also a need for more policies to ensure better work-life balance and reassess the policies with regards to women working night shifts, the study pointed out.