A decade ago, Bajaj Auto had virtually no women in its workforce. When Rajiv Bajaj took over as managing director in 1990, only two out of 20,000 employees were women, and both held positions as counsellors or social workers. Today, the company’s various branches, including Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Technology, and Bajaj Credit, employ 3,500 women, making up nearly 20% of the total workforce.
At the new Chakan plant, women represent 25% of the workforce. Here they assemble all the big Bajaj motorcycles. In Aurangabad, women are responsible for assembling the electric drivetrain components for three-wheelers.
Bajaj believes that women possess essential qualities such as patience, empathy, and diligence—attributes vital for excelling in core engineering roles. The company recognised the importance of women engineers early on, making them a significant part of its workforce.
Bridging Career Gap
Despite this progress, there remains a persistent underrepresentation of women in core engineering and manufacturing sectors, particularly as advanced manufacturing, deep technology, and industrial innovation become increasingly critical to India’s economic growth and global competitiveness. To address this issue, the Bajaj Auto Foundation has launched the Rupa Rahul Bajaj Scholarship for Women in Engineering, a scholarship program with a budget of Rs 400 crore. This initiative is the largest scholarship program for women in core engineering in India.
According to Ravi Kiran, Chief Human Resources Officer of Bajaj Auto, women account for 25-30% of those pursuing engineering, but only 12-13% pursue core engineering, and even fewer choose to build a career in that field.
To empower women engineers and encourage their involvement in the manufacturing sector, the scholarship program has already begun with a selected cohort of 506 scholars from the country’s top 40 engineering colleges. The Bajaj Auto Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Bajaj Auto, has committed Rs 400 crore to the initiative. Next year, the cohort will expand to 1,000 scholars, and to 2,000 the following year.
Financial Subsidies
The merit-based program supports women pursuing core engineering disciplines, including Mechanical Engineering, Electronics, Industrial Instrumentation, Mechatronics, Robotics, and related fields. Scholars will receive financial assistance of up to Rs 8 lakh throughout their engineering education.
In addition to financial support, the scholarship program will nurture the next generation of women leaders in engineering through structured mentorship, leadership development, industry immersion, and access to professional networks.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, executive chairperson and founder of Biocon, officially launched the program alongside Bajaj at Bajaj Auto’s Akurdi plant. Mazumdar-Shaw stated that the future of science, engineering, and manufacturing must be built on inclusion and equal opportunity. Encouraging more women to pursue core engineering disciplines is not only a social imperative but also an economic one. She also offered internship opportunities at Biocon’s manufacturing sites to help students gain industrial experience.