Gender Gap Narrows Down In EV Sector With Higher Participation From Women

Women-owned business enterprises and their participation are playing a prominent role in society by generating employment opportunities in almost all sectors of the economy. The auto industry isn’t an exception either. This article is not just an appreciation of their contribution but also focuses on their varied experiences in the EV automobile industry.

As per a Cogoport report, the Indian automobile industry contributes upwards of 30 per cent to its manufacturing GDP. Needless to say, whatever change comes to the auto industry is going to impact GDP as a whole. As per Invest India, National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency, the EV market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49 per cent between 2022 and 2030, reaching 10 million annual sales. The industry will create about 50 million direct and indirect jobs during the same period. Consequently, various auto ancillaries and related sectors will grow with the EV industry in the upcoming years as they keep up with the trends

Women At The Helm

CIEL HR Services Ltd. performed a poll titled “Latest Employment Trends in EV sector 2022” among 15,200 employees from 52 different organisations. The analysis states that Bengaluru led the list with 62 per cent of the electric vehicle employees, followed by New Delhi with 12 per cent, Pune with 9 per cent, Coimbatore with 6 per cent, and Chennai with 3 per cent.

Report further states that in last six to eight months, electric car players hired 2,236 new employees, and women established themselves in nearly every segment of the EV industry. Furthermore, women have top executive positions in several businesses, including Kinetic Green, Mahindra Electric, Convergence Energy Services, OBEN Electric, and Ampere Vehicles, it claimed.

The factors of public health and arresting climate change have been the motivation behind women venturing into the field of the auto industry – especially, EV. it hasn’t been devoid of challenges like gender stereotypes that women professionals have been facing in the traditionally male-dominated mobility sector.

Increasing Workforce in Auto Companies

Women professionals are emerging as the preferred choice in India’s burgeoning EV industry. Some of the industry leaders are looking to increase the share of women workforce at the time when they are chasing the targets of carbon neutrality. For instance, MG Motor India targets having 50 per cent women employees in its workforce by 2023. The firm recorded over 30 per cent of the share of female workforce in its earlier reports.

Auto giant Tata Motors has more than 3,000 women operating on the shopfloor across all its plants, working on multiple products ranging from passenger (electric and ICE) cars to heavy commercial vehicles. Recently, the firm commissioned an all-women assembly line at its manufacturing facility in Pune, with more than 1,500 dedicated women professionals.

The startup culture of India has become a major platform for the growth of EVs in India. Even the basic human resource system is getting built from scratch leading to at least the rise of women share in workforce, if not making it equal.

“These startups are bringing new ideas and building everything from the scratch, including company policies, products, and businesses. Efforts to increase diversity and inclusion are leading to a rise in women’s participation in the EV sector,” said Chetna Nagpal, a Senior Associate working with RMI India.

Climate Change and its Impacts – Major Motivation

Women entrants in the EV sector seem to be highly motivated due to the adverse impacts on public health due to emissions caused by fossil-fuel-run conventional vehicles. The ever-rising vehicle density – of both, passenger as well as freight transportation- responsible for degrading air quality has been a wake-up call for women, much like their male counterparts.

Chetna Nagpal expressed her story, “I always wanted to do something about the traffic issues and associated air quality and health impacts. Recognising the role of electric vehicles in enhancing India’s energy security, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving air quality, and providing associated health benefits, I decided to venture into the electric vehicle policy space.”

The idea of clean transport motivated Chetna Nagpal to venture into the EV sector and made her grow in the field – now leading the “Shoonya – Zero Pollution Mobility Campaign” (a consumer- and corporate-facing campaign raising awareness around the benefits of switching to EVs), driving research on electrification of trucking and passenger mobility, and lastly, steering the electric vehicle transition in a manner that is “Just” for all.

Addressing other challenges, like climate change, associated with vehicular emissions has also ignited women entrants toward the field of energy transition.

“My decision came from reading about climate change and related challenges and my passion to work as part of the ongoing energy transition,” said Chandana Sasidharan, an energy technology specialist at South Asia Regional Energy Partnership (SAREP) initiative.

EV Sector – Need to Break Gender Stereotypes

The auto industry is mostly considered a sector dominated by male presence. However, women are increasingly building up their share, especially in the electric mobility businesses. Different EV companies like Kinetic Green, Mahindra Electric Mobility, Convergence Energy Services Limited, OBEN Electric Vehicle and Ampere Vehicles have women in top management positions. An industry which is more electrical and electronic, and less mechanical, in nature naturally draws women into such roles.

“When we look at an EV, we are thinking of battery power electronics, advanced communication and controls, not a mechanical diesel or petrol engine or the moving auto parts. Any transition, especially the ongoing energy transition in renewables and other clean technologies opens opportunities for women at multiple levels, as entrepreneurs, researchers, technical experts and skilled workers. Many EV companies have factories that are led by women workforce,” added Chandana.

Further, EVs made the auto industry more than just physical labour, bringing down moving parts in the vehicles.

“Most companies avoid hiring married or pregnant women as they might become a liability for the company. However, women are contributing to the whole spectrum of e-mobility from operations, and driving EVs, to leading businesses,” said Megha Rajpal, Business Head for the Charging Infrastructure Segment at MoEVing.

Challenges to Women’s Inclusion

While the auto industry has finally welcomed women, thanks to the rise of EVs, there is still a need to address other challenges. The position of women would also decide the level of integration they have achieved in decision-making top managerial roles.

An IEA report estimates the share of female representation in companies worldwide is relatively lower in more senior management positions relative to less senior management positions.

 

Even in overall participation “India sees one of the lowest female participation in the workforce,” said Nitin Kapoor, Managing Director of Saera Electric Auto. The Labour force participation rate (LFPR) of women in India was just 25 per cent in 2021.

“Women hiring in the industry has increased, but it has majorly been at the entry to medium level, there are still very few women in leadership roles in the industry,” bemoaned Chetna (on being asked about challenges for women inclusion in the EV sector. Shedding light on other issues impeding women’s growth, she suggested that gender-blind workplace practices which include a lack of clean and gender-friendly restrooms, safe parking spaces, etc. have been part of the problem as well.

Megha Rajpal of MoEVing noted that lack of work-life balance, unfair treatment at work, lack of good paying job, non-preference for promotion, etc. are a few challenges women face in any industry, and it is also prevalent today in the EV industry.

Positive Future Lies Ahead for Women Entrants

Nitin Kapoor, Managing Director of Saera Electric Auto, hints that India is going to be one of the biggest markets for EVs, and many job opportunities are going to open up. “I definitely look at this positively and see more women leaders coming in,” he said.

Technological advancement is driving the industrial growth and at the verge of breaking all kinds of barriers. With EV taking on ICE market, the share of women is going to increase in the inevitable change. As Kapoor rightly concluded, “One notable improvement is that increasing number of women are now found in automotive workplaces across India, and they are leading the EV revolution in our country. Moreover, clean technology initiatives have multiplied jobs for women exponentially.”

Inclusive government and industry policies have played an important role in opening a new field of the EV industry for the women’s labour force. EV has taken away the need for heavy machinery, required in ICE vehicles, and turned the focus on electronics, software, data management, and design. The government policies like POSH, fair compensation, and DEI have been playing a critical role in women’s empowerment in the EV industry just as in any other sector of the economy.