By Sugandha Mukherjee
When women field staff at Dr Reddy’s Laboratories began complaining of persistent headaches, the culprit was not stress; it was their helmets. The protective headgear, designed for men, was heavy and caused discomfort. For a role that involves riding to meet doctors up to 13-14 times a day, it was a barrier. The company responded by introducing lighter, ergonomically designed helmets made specifically for women—a small but telling example of how Indian companies are starting to tailor tools and workplaces for women employees.
At CEAT’s tyre plant in Maharashtra, women are now working night shifts— something rarely seen in India’s manufacturing sector. But it hasn’t happened in isolation. The factory infrastructure was overhauled to enable this inclusion: women are picked up and dropped off in company vehicles accompanied by female security guards; women-only restrooms have been fitted with sanitary vending machines; ergonomic workstations were introduced to reduce strain during long shifts; and young mothers can access on-site crèche facilities. The company also offers flexible shift options during pregnancy and the year following maternity leave. Every month, CEAT hosts a women empowerment forum, where female employees can directly raise concerns or offer feedback to management.
“We’re seeing real outcomes—improved productivity, higher retention, and stronger campus interest in our brand,” said Somraj Roy, senior vice-president and chief human resource officer at CEAT. “Representation on the shop floor has doubled from 11% in 2019 to over 20%. This is not just about numbers; we are creating a truly inclusive environment.”
By 2027, CEAT aims to have women make up 25% of its shop-floor workforce and 20% of its leadership.
Tata Motors’ Pune plant is home to an all-women assembly line where over 1,300 women build Harrier and Safari SUVs from scratch. The company didn’t simply hire women into a male-defined workspace—it redesigned the space itself. The changes began with clean, accessible restrooms, and crèche facilities. They extended to last-mile transport systems for women and tailored workstations on the factory floor. Across Tata Motors’ plants, including those in Jamshedpur, Pantnagar, Lucknow, and Sanand, more than 5,900 women are now employed—2,500 of them involved in assembling trucks and buses.
The company has backed this expansion with structured support. Its DEI Lighthouse initiative, launched in FY25, focuses on three gender-specific goals: increasing women’s representation, reducing attrition, and preparing women for leadership roles. One of its softer innovations is the DEIsha Café—a space for women employees and managers to engage in open dialogue, build empathy, and solve workplace challenges informally.
For employees like Farheen Siddiqui, a 27-year-old line engineer at Tata Motors, the impact has been life-changing. “My professional journey has empowered me personally and socially, leading to significant changes in my family dynamics,” she said.
But, these are exceptions, not the rule. While labour force participation rate for women reached 41.7% in 2023–24, up from 30% in 2019-20, urban participation still lags—25.3% in May 2025 as compared to 35.2% in rural areas. Women still face barriers to entering and staying in formal, full-time employment in cities.
For every Tata or CEAT, there are hundreds of companies—especially in the MSME segment— where gender-inclusive workplaces remain the exception. According to Pooja Sharma Goyal of the Udaiti Foundation, which works with corporates and government to build equitable workspaces, the challenge often lies in infrastructure and outdated assumptions. “The easiest explanation is social norms—that women don’t want to work on shop floors. But that’s changing fast. Families in Tier-2 and -3 towns are willing to send their daughters. What holds them back now is infrastructure,” she said. “Basic things like clean toilets, last-mile transport, safe accommodation and crèche facilities—these are what make or break women’s ability to work full-time.”
The issue, Goyal pointed out, is that large companies can afford to invest in these changes. “MSMEs look at women as costlier hires—they think of maternity benefits, safety concerns. So the bias has shifted from retention to hiring. Even if they don’t say it out loud, it’s happening.”
In Mohali, Mahindra & Mahindra’s Swaraj division faced similar hurdles. Goyal noted, “They began with clean washrooms, then reached out to surrounding villages, and set up the transport and housing needed for women to actually show up to work.”
Workplace design isn’t just about buildings—it’s about products too. During Covid-19, most PPE suits were designed for male bodies, leaving thousands of female nurses and frontline workers with poor fits during 48-72 hour shifts. “Design is gendered. And companies need to start addressing that at every level—uniforms, safety gear, travel, even the layout of working women hostels,” Goyal said.
At Dr Reddy’s, where the majority of field roles are held by men, a pilot programme with Udaiti is now rethinking how to onboard and retain women in medical representative positions. From lighter helmets to creating rest zones along sales routes, the redesign effort is ongoing.
As per the Udaiti Foundation, the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) sector employs 80-100% women on the shop floor. Efficiency, detail orientation and lower attrition are commonly cited reasons.
On the policy front, India has one of the world’s largest gender budgets—8.9% of the total Union Budget in 2025, up from 6.8% the year before. There are dedicated schemes like Sakhi Niwas under the ministry of women and child development for working women’s hostels. Under the ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA), worker housing with gender-sensitive design is also being promoted. But implementation is uneven.
India’s formal economy remains male-dominated. As of May 2025, India’s Worker Population Ratio for women in urban areas remains just 23%. But behind that modest figure is a deeper shift. From all-women managed Starbucks, re-engineered helmets for sales reps, flexible shifts for new mothers, and ESG-driven factory redesigns, a new kind of Indian workforce is emerging. It’s not about replacing men; it’s about redesigning industry so it doesn’t exclude women by default.
“The budget is there. The commitment is there. But for this to work, industry must lean in,” said Goyal. “The government can build the foundation, but companies need to ensure women aren’t left out of the jobs being created.”