Gender Diversity in Manufacturing Organisations

Diversity:

Diverse groupings based on age, gender, race/culture, disabilities, sexual orientation etc

Why Diversity and Inclusion:

Diverse groups perform better Strong correlation, if not causal relationship, between diversity and organization

performance Larger talent pool to draw from Corporate image Better employee morale

Current Situation

Started as a compliance measure, now a part of strategy for large MNC’s Diversity is now called ‘diversity and inclusion’, signifying that it creates an inclusive culture

in the organization and is not just about hiring people from diverse groups Still only 30% organizations define diversity officially(SHRM report in 2008) MNC’s especially concerned about diversity

o Global targets defined by global HR managers or diversity teamso Top management performance scorecards include diversity targetso Some companies publish diversity progress reports along with other performance

reports for the organization Governments like UK and Australia are actively pursuing inclusion

o National Action Plan on Social Inclusion (NAP) in UK addressing gender diversity issues like pay gaps based on gender

o Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) in Australia communicates with over 2,700 Australian employers annually

Gender diversity in India

According to TCS survey on ‘Benchmarking Gender Inclusion in Corporate India’, the gender inclusion situation in 2010, the manufacturing sector lagged behind IT and services in terms of gender inclusion. The worst representation is in durable manufacturing where about 80% firms have 15% or less women employees.

Issues that prevent women from participating can be identified through existing research:

Sociological factors: culture preventing women participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths)

Organizational factors: Flexibilty/ Work-Life Balance, opportunities

Sociological factors should be addressed mainly by the government and educational institutions (IIT-JEE was free for girls last year; IIM’s had grace marks for girls etc). The percentage of female graduates is increasing as a result. Female ratio in engineering improved from 1:10 to 4:10 in the last decade (according to Sapient Corp, Bangalore)

Research Plan

The research project would focus on manufacturing firms and measure gender diversity in terms of steps that they take to ensure woman participation:

Quantitative measures can include some of these:

% of women employees currently

% of women employees in new hires(last 1 or 2yrs) Turnover rates for women % of women who return after career breaks(like maternity) Promotion rates for women vs men Number of women applicants vs number of applicants hired(last 1 or 2 years) Pay equity for women

Qualitative measures will include gender inclusion policies like

Training/mentoring programs for women Flexibility: % of staff on flexible timings, men and women Flexible transfers/ work from home policy Child care facilities Maternity leave/ compensation Help lines/forum for women Re-entry after career breaks Any other innovative practices

The data can be collected through questionnaires (email/phone/ interviews?). Sample would be HR managers/ diversity management teams

Data can also be collected from women employees to identify issues that they face (maybe?)

Some manufacturing companies that focus on gender inclusion and could be targeted for the survey: TATA motors, HUL, L’oreal, Toyota, Mahindra, Cummins, MRF, IBM, P&G, L&T, Aditya Birla Group, Pepsico, Coke (more can be added), Biocon, gsk, Novartis, Dr. Reddy’s, Ranbaxy, Cipla, Eli Lily, Bosch, Godrej, ITC, Colgate Palmolive, Cadbury, Nestle, Britannia, Kraft, Amul, Pfizer, Gillette, Johnson and Johnson, Akzo nobel, Asian Paints, Bayer, Pidilite, GE, HCL, Siemens, Samsung, Sony, Philips, LG, Eureka Forbes, Dell, HP, Whirlpool, Honeywell, Nokia,Videocon, Cisco, Jindal Steel, Tata Steel, Lakme, Garnier, Revlon, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Maruti, Madura Garments, Raymond, Arvind mills, Titan

(Major women employers in manufacturing: food and beverages, leather, paper, chemical, furniture, communication equipment according to a UNIDO report in 2007)

Data analysis should bring out some of the best practices in gender diversity management and recommendations can be made for the same.

Timeline/ Milestones (rough estimate)

1. Background/ Literature Review- 3-4 days(mostly done)2. Identifying sample groups/companies – 3-4 days3. Questionnaire development for survey and interviews– 3-4 days4. Data collection including a few site visits – 3-4 weeks5. Data analysis to identify best practices, recommendations – 1 week

6. Report writing and presentation – 1 week