Running the Shop: Women at JSW MG Motor India

The year is 2026 and the concept of working women is still a stigma in a lot of places. Corporates started to become workplaces but even then, for a long time, automotive manufacturing in India did not feel like a space designed for women.

The barriers were not always written into policies, only the ‘mandate’ of adding women in the workforce was. Till date, women representation in manufacturing is taken literally. At JSW MG Motor India, changing that experience has required more than increasing representation. It has meant building a workplace where women feel comfortable entering, confident contributing, and supported enough to build long-term careers.

Inside automotive manufacturing, women have often spoken about feeling like outsiders in technical environments. Many entered workplaces where they were the only woman in the room, where growth paths felt uncertain, or where simply being heard required additional effort. JSW MG Motor India’s Halol manufacturing facility in Gujarat is where women work across engineering, quality, manufacturing, quality, EV battery assembly, R&D, and leadership functions. Some are experienced professionals and others are first-generation employees from nearby towns and rural communities.

When the company established operations at Halol, leadership made a deliberate effort to create a more balanced workforce from the beginning. The approach extended beyond recruitment targets. Shopfloors were designed with ergonomic considerations. Hiring processes were reviewed to reduce bias. Managers underwent sensitization programs. Support systems around childcare, maternity, flexibility, and return-to-work transitions were introduced early.

Over time, those structural changes started influencing workplace culture. Women employees increasingly began entering technical and operational roles that were traditionally male dominated. Today, women account for more than 41% of the workforce at JSW MG Motor India among the highest levels of representation in the automotive sector. One of the strongest examples of this shift can be seen inside the company’s EV battery assembly shop where women represent nearly 80% of the workforce across shifts in the facility. The work involves module assembly, welding, testing, quality validation, and final integration processes that demand precision, consistency, and operational discipline.

For many employees, working in advanced EV manufacturing environments represents access and carries significance beyond the role itself. Access to technical careers that previous generations of women in their families did not have, to financial independence, to confidence that comes from operating in highly skilled environments. Several women working at Halol are the first in their households to enter formal manufacturing roles.

Drive Her Back, launched in 2019, was designed for women professionals returning to work after career breaks. What made this initiative meaningful for many participants was beyond simply the employment opportunity. It was the recognition that career breaks do not diminish professional capability. The program gradually evolved into a broader reintegration platform with mentoring, coaching, networking opportunities, and confidence-building support. For women returning after extended breaks, confidence is often the first thing that needs rebuilding. Drive Her Back approached that reality with empathy rather than urgency.

Alongside this, they have programs such as the Women Interactive Network for Development (WIND) and leadership initiatives like EmpowHer create more opportunities for women to participate in mentorship, leadership conversations, technical capability-building, and strategic business discussions. These interventions helped create stronger peer networks within the organization. That peer support often becomes especially important in industries where women are still building representation.

The company also recognized that workplace culture cannot shift without participation from the larger organization. Regular sessions around unconscious bias, allyship, workplace inclusion, and POSH awareness became part of broader cultural conversations. Managers were encouraged to take active ownership of inclusion goals rather than viewing them as HR-led initiatives. Over time, diversity conversations inside the organization became less centered on representation numbers and more connected to workplace experience. That distinction is increasingly important as the automotive industry evolves.

Programs such as MG Nurture are helping create future talent pipelines through partnerships with engineering colleges and ITIs, with focused opportunities for female students pursuing EV and mobility technologies. As the young talent joins the organization, that ‘normalcy’ itself carries meaning and creates the feeling that they belong. That reality has shaped how the company thinks about inclusion.