CII Centre for Women Leadership 2024

Introduce machinery and other workplace tools which would complement the strength of women workers.

Constant upskilling courses for women to enhance their skills and diversify their stream if they wish to.

Design ergonomic workstations (raise the height of workstations, provide inclusive washroom and rest-areas), provide safety gear for all staff, including jackets for lactating women, ensure adequate provisioning of washrooms and hostels, as well as door-to-door safety of workers employed in nightshifts in factories/companies.

Select Examples:

Tata Motors

Sector: Automobile Manufacturing

Challenge Identified: Integration of women into complex automotive assembly roles traditionally dominated by men.

Intervention: Tata Motors introduced an all-women car assembly line, redesigning tools, workplace infrastructure (toilets, transport, ergonomics), and training to enable women to perform complex assembly tasks.

Organisational Levers Used:

Introduction of manipulators and robotics to support lifting of 15kg equipment
Raising the height of workstations
Redesign of lifts, tackles and torquing tools
Provision of hygiene systems, hostels, and door-to-door transportation
Targeted training for production roles

Impact: This staff of over 1700+ women is responsible for end-to-end production link TCF-2 and assembly of Tata Harrier and Tata Safari SUV units as part of the company’s “Earn and Learn” programme.

Source: Tata Motors. (n.d.). Women at the heart of change: Tata Motors’ all-women car assembly line puts women at the frontline of Indian automobile manufacturing.

Maersk

Sector: Logistics / Container Freight Stations (CFS)

Challenge Identified: Low representation of women in warehouse and container freight station operations, traditionally male-dominated functions.

Intervention: Maersk redesigned multiple warehouses in container freight stations (in Chennai and Dadri) into entirely women-operated facilities. This initiative intended to increase women's representation at the Chennai CFS from 3% to 13% of the total workforce.

Organisational Levers Used:

Employment of women across all operational functions, including loading/unloading, picking, surveying, security, housekeeping, administration, and forklift operations
Training programs covering customs procedures, material handling, and professional and personal safety

Impact: Women now comprise 21% of the workforce in the transformed Chennai warehouse, reflecting a significant increase from the initial 3% representation.

Source: A.P. Moller - Maersk. (2024, November 21). Maersk transforms a warehouse at its Chennai CFS into an all-women-operated facility.

JC Bamford Excavators India (JCB India)

Sector: Construction Equipment Manufacturing

Challenge Identified: Physical ergonomics and workplace design barriers limiting women’s participation in manufacturing and welding operations.

Intervention: JCB prepared and communicated an Ergonomics Manual for the Vadodara site, followed by an Ergonomics Study in critical areas like Stab Leg, Carriage and Bending Area. The study examined repetitive bending movements, excess travel, and handling of parts in inappropriate posture, leading to improvements in work area ergonomics, layout of work cells, and better processes.

Specific examples of design & infrastructural improvements:

Reduction in carriage gauge weight by 76% (from 15 kg to 5 kg), enabling successful deployment of women in that area
Development of heightened work platforms for welding to compensate for variation in height
Ergonomic workstations and avoidance of lifting
Health & safety measures and supportive supervision
Providing jackets for lactating mothers

Impact: The ergonomics interventions enabled deployment of women in critical production areas and contributed to a gender diversity rate of 36% at the JCB Jaipur plant. JCB has embedded gender inclusion as a core business strategy by creating new verticals like "Business Excellence" and "Product Portfolio." The initiative at the Vadodara plant is designed to be a scalable model that can be replicated at other facilities. The company introduced three-shift operations exclusively for women. This "Shift Innovation" provides a flexible and supportive work environment, and the all-women production line shows women's capabilities in a traditionally male-dominated sector.[

Source: Shetty, D. (2025, April 8). Over the past few years, there has been consistent effort to make all roles gender-neutral at JCB India.
Equipment Times.

Also see: JCB India launches GBP 100 million factory near #Vadodara

L&T Construction & Mining Machinery

Sector: Construction & Mining Equipment

Challenge Identified: Women traditionally confined to conventional roles such as accounts, finance, administration and HRD, with limited representation in technical and heavy machinery operations.

Intervention: At L&T Construction & Mining Machinery, the engagement of women has moved beyond conventional roles.

Organisational Levers Used:

Deployment of all-women teams executing important activities on site as well as on the shopfloor
Recruitment of the first batch of industrial training institute women trainees
Placement of women in Heavy Earth Moving Machinery maintenance roles
Shift-based operations to integrate women into core technical functions

Impact: Women are now handling critical activities such as equipment maintenance and achieving higher uptime.

Source: Larsen & Toubro Limited. (2025, September 10). All-women L&T team sets record by commissioning a 100-tonne payload mining machine in Jharkhand.

Mahindra Logistics Limited

Sector: Logistics & Supply Chain (3PL)

Challenge Identified: Limited participation of women in core warehouse and logistics operations

Intervention: This initiative builds on the significant structural shifts in logistics, by empowering women to be at the centre of essential operational functions and entrusting them with responsibilities that directly influence business performance. It expands meaningful representation in areas where women have historically had limited presence and strengthens gender balance across critical roles within the logistics ecosystem.

Organisational Levers:

Extensive training in self-defence, POSH guidelines, fire safety, first aid, and capability-building programmes
Trained women employees on the deployment of in-house warehouse management system for real-time visibility and operational discipline

Impact: Launch of one of the first women-only warehouses in Madhya Pradesh, India

Source: Mahindra Logistics Limited. (n.d.). Mahindra Logistics and L’Oréal India partner to launch India’s first all-women-operated warehouse in Indore.

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