Equality has always been a shape-shifter when it comes to gender. In today's world, when we put an empowered man side by side an empowered woman, the differences are alarming. With the menace of inequality eating into the fabric of society, men and women are draped with the same fabric but differently. We all know men and their passion for automobiles are inseparable. They can talk about gears and clutches for hours at a stretch. But when ladies of Jyote stormed the debate and shattered this male bastion, they were instant celebrities in their own right From selling cars to explaining new-age cars, our women are altering the perception that they cannot undertake automotive tasks. Women of Jyote are given theoretical inputs in selected departments. Then, they are placed with dealers to get hands-on training through an on-the-job training. Women not just made them equivalent to their male counterparts, they dominated over them in every department, be it sales or marketing or HR. They fuelled their journey to become overall champions. Inspired by the success of the programs carried out by Jyote, more women are now being recruited by us. Jyote has also arranged a best-in-class training facility for the candidates. A good number of vehicles sourced from the best brands, the latest diagnostic tools, highly competent trainers and even a service station for the public to have their vehicle serviced. Managing Director cum Founder Mr.Devjyoti Pattnaik, leading the way for women in this institution to an automotive training hub in association with different brands and various other automotive organizations shows how women are empowered at Jyote in every single step of their career. Even as the automotive industry gears up to race ahead with electric mobility and self-driving cars, it’s being held back by a deepening talent crisis. Women—an often largely underutilized resource in the automotive sector but at Jyote the scenario is a lot different. By working to promote an appealing work atmosphere conducive to gender diversity, some companies operating in the sector could be missing out on a key competitive advantage. In fact, if auto companies need more reasons to ramp up their efforts in hiring women and advancing their careers, there is substantial empirical evidence showing a strong correlation between diversity and positive financial performance at the corporate level. Jyote believes that diversity of thinking in leadership enhances innovation by 20 percent. At the same time, diverse groups are more adept at spotting risks, thus reducing their occurrence by 30 percent. Not only this, at the board level, having three or more female board members acts as a tipping point, resulting in positive median gains in both return on equity and earnings per share. How Jyote does it all? Jyote focuses on how executives and industry leaders should step on the gas pedal if they want to make the auto sector more appealing and friendly for women. Based on the findings of various study, we have always considered taking the following steps: Start at the top: The cultural paradigm shift should begin in the C-suite. Senior leaders should be lined up and lead by example to impress the importance of gender diversity and inclusion as a critical and top business priority. The specific areas we focus on through a diversity lens include succession planning, board composition, and hiring practices. Foster mentorship and sponsorship: We lend informal mentorship and sponsorship programs to the women because they are the most effective tools a company can implement to help pave the way for attracting them to—and retaining them in—the automotive industry. Encouraging women to pursue their career ambitions early and often: To counter the perception of the industry’s worsening attitude toward women, we find new ways to encourage women to pursue a career in the industry. Learning from other industries: Nearly 40 percent of the surveys believe that the education sector is the best at attracting and retaining women. Automotive sector leaders should, therefore, develop a better understanding of what makes that sector so attractive and explore opportunities to leverage specific ideas that could help drive women to the automotive sector. Jyote, as an automotive industry, has always wanted to attract and retain a gender-diverse workforce, by realigning its cultural norms to make them more conducive for all; weeding out the biases that discourage women from joining auto companies; helping employees address their work/life balance; facilitating them in drawing up their career maps; and providing adequate support and mentorship to help them speed ahead in the direction they want to go in.
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