Gati steers DE&I agenda, starts all-women shift at operating units

While the all-women shift was begun as a pilot project, it has given great results and the logistics company plans to take it to all its operating units across India

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In some of the sectors, attracting women talent has always remained a challenge. One of them is the logistics and transportation sector in India, which has a low representation of women talent.

As per an annual report published by the Ministry of Roads and Highways in India, in 2018, women formed only 20 per cent of the entire logistics and transportation sector in the country!

Gati, part of the Allcargo Logistics Group, has decided to take a concrete step in the direction of increasing the number of women in the Company.

Talking to HRKatha, Mehernosh Mehta, chief HR officer, Gati, shares that the Company has started a pilot project wherein it has created an all-women shift at some of its operating units. That means, every day, there is a dedicated eight-hour shift comprising only women.

How is it happening?

“Very often, in my previous stints as well, I have been frequently asked how we can increase the number of women in the logistics sector. I feel it is not very difficult to achieve. If we have the right ecosystem, governance and policies that support women at the workplace, this impossible task can be easily fulfilled,” asserts Mehta.

Increasing the ratio of women in the Company is a big agenda and part of the business score card, admits Mehta. The ground work to make the workplace inclusive for all women talent has been done.

“Very often, in my previous stints as well, I have been frequently asked how we can increase the number of women in the logistics sector. I feel it is not very difficult to achieve. If we have the right ecosystem, governance and policies that support women at the workplace, this impossible task can be easily fulfilled”

Mehernosh Mehta, chief HR officer, Gati

Sensitisation: Mehta shares that all managers and employees have undergone gender sensitisation sessions. The Company has sensitised its employees to Protection of Women from Sexual Harassment (POSH) policies and compliance to ensure that a gender-inclusive workplace is created.

While Gati hasn’t revealed the precise number of women it has hired at its operating units, it is clear that the Company is working continuously to tap women talent through various sources and channels, for all levels of jobs.

Returnship programme: The highlight of the recent initiatives by Gati is the group-level returnship programme that benefits women on a career break. Allcargo provides opportunities to women who have witnessed a halt in their careers to restart their professional journey, by enrolling for this programme.

Tie-ups: Additionally, Gati has tied up with various NGOs that work to empower women and tap female talent for its operating units.

Mehta reveals that Gati wants to take this initiative even further by having all-women shifts across the operating units of the Company in India. “We have more than 200 operational units in India. We know that it will be a humongous task to implement something like this, but our teams are making efforts and laying down plans to achieve this mission,” declares Mehta proudly.

While the all-women shift programme was started as a pilot project, Mehta admits that it has really given great results. That is why, Gati wants to take this initiative to all operational units across the country.

Since the logistics sector is not amongst the preferred sectors for women, companies do find it challenging to attract them, especially for frontline roles. “Our employer brand and the overall brand image is quite strong. We have positioned ourselves in the talent market as we are, and people are aware of us since they have interacted with our brand and services at some point in life,” concludes Mehta confidently.

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