Jamshedpur, : Tata Steel has added yet another feather in its pursuit of excellence in gender diversity by deploying the first batch of 22 women HEMM (Heavy Earth Moving Machinery) operators at its Noamundi Iron mine in all the shifts. This initiative, termed as ‘Tejaswini 2.0’, was jointly launched today in the presence of Ms Atrayee Sarkar, Vice President, Human Resource Management, Tata Steel and Mr D B Sundara Ramam, Vice President, Raw Materials, Tata Steel in the presence of Mr Atul Bhatnagar, General Manager (OMQ Division), Tata Steel & Mr Siddhartha Shah, Chief Human Resource Management (Raw Materials), Tata Steel.
‘Tejaswini 2.0’ has been designed to provide technical training to unskilled women workers and enable them to work in core jobs at mines. (OMQ) Ore Mines & Quarries Division became the first Division in the company to launch this initiative and received over 350 applications out of which 22 candidates were selected after a written test and personal interview. The average age of the new joinees is 23 years and the minimum qualification required to apply was matriculation. These candidates will undergo an intensive training to hone their skills as HEMM operators. After successful completion of their training, these women will be deployed as Operations Assistant to operate HEMM, which includes dumper, dozer, shovel, excavator and drill. This initiative is also a step towards empowering local talent as a majority of these women are locals from Noamundi, which is located in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand.
Ms Atrayee Sarkar, Vice President, Human Resource Management, Tata Steel, said: “We are happy to induct the first batch of 22 women who will join as HEMM operators at our Noamundi Iron Mine. ‘Tejaswini 2.0’ initiative reflects our commitment towards fostering a culture of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) in the organisation. Tata Steel has been a torchbearer in the manufacturing sector by introducing several pathbreaking initiatives such as ‘women@mines’ to encourage diversity at workplace. We continue our efforts on hiring and creating infrastructure for a diverse workforce as well as retaining and developing women leaders.”
Tata Steel has consistently taken steps to improve diversity and inclusion in the organisation for achieving a target of having 20% women workforce by 2025. Earlier, in September 2019, Tata Steel had become the first company in the country to deploy women in all shifts in mining operations after modifications in the law permitting women deployment in all three shifts. ‘Tejaswini 2.0’ is another step in this direction to empower and employ women in the mining sector. West Bokaro Division in Tata Steel has also initiated the process of recruiting women HEMM operators.
