Tata Steel recruits 16 women heavy earth moving machinery operators

Domestic giant Tata Steel on Wednesday said it has inducted 16 women Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) operators as part of its efforts to promote women empowerment. The 16 women operators were inducted at its West Bokaro division. The company had earlier deployed the first batch of 22 women at Noamundi iron mine in 2019.

"Promoting diversity and inclusion as a way of life to ensure fair and equal opportunity for all employees, Tata Steel's West Bokaro Division onboarded 16 women Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) operators in all shifts at an event organized today under its flagship programme - Women@Mines," the company said in a statement.

"Women@Mines" programme aims to provide technical training to the unskilled women workers and enable them to work in core jobs at mines. West Bokaro Division, the first coal division in the company to launch this initiative, received over 446 applications out of which 16 candidates were selected after a written test and a personal interview.

The minimum qualification required was matriculation, the company said adding these candidates will undergo intensive training for a year to hone their skills as HEMM operators. Post successful completion of their training, these women will be deployed as Operations Assistant to operate HEMM at Quarry SE, which includes dumper, dozer, shovel, excavator, and drill.

Atrayee Sarkar, Vice President, Human Resource Management, Tata Steel, said: "Tata Steel has always provided career opportunities to the talented youth from the community, and Women@Mines at West Bokaro is yet another milestone in this journey.

"Focused on industry-wide efforts to foster a diverse and inclusive culture, Tata Steel is making sure it provides a safe and an enabling environment to its workforce. We take great pride in welcoming onboard the new women recruit at our West Bokaro site and wish them an empowering career ahead."

D B Sundara Ramam, Vice President, Raw Materials, Tata Steel, said: "Our Women@Mines initiative intends to provide a wider career choice for women who wish to be a part of Tata Steel's growth story." He said the the company will continue to work towards making mining an attractive and rewarding proposition for the young talent. Sharing her joy on the occasion, Sushmita Mandal, a HEMM operator, said: "From learning to drive bi-cycle, bike, & car, to gearing up to drive HEMM, I have come up a long way. Nothing is impossible if you are up for the challenge. I am happy that I will now share my workspace with my father and other male colleagues. This opportunity will not only weave a better future for all the aspiring girls in the region but will also inspire local housewives."

Tata Steel said it has consistently taken steps to improve diversity and inclusion in the organization for achieving a target of having 25 per cent women workforce by 2025.