NEW DELHI: In a bid to foster inclusion, empower talent and improve gender disparity, the Mahindra group is rolling out a “first-of-its-kind returnship” programme for women. The move is part of an ongoing group-wide initiative to tap into the talent pool of women, who took a career break after five years, offering them mainstream roles and permanent employment.
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“Unlike other industry programmes that limit returning talent to short-term projects or fringe roles, SOAR (Seamless Opportunity for Amazing Returnships) acts as a talent accelerator for those women who were on a break. It invests deeply in these professionals, provides them roles aligned to their pre-break experience, as well as an intensive framework of mentorship, training, and continued engagement,” Ruzbeh Irani, president – human resources, Mahindra group told TOI.
A significant number of women opt out of the workforce due to family responsibilities and childcare duties. According to Statista, urban female labour force participation in India was just over 22% for the year ending June 2024, compared to 59% for urban men. The female labour force participation rate stood around 33% in 2023, remaining significantly lower than the global average (46%), the World Bank says.
To address gender gap, several companies including TCS, Accenture and IBM offer similar policies, which include flexible work options, mentorship and re-skilling opportunities. Designed for women with at least five years of prior work experience and a career break of six months to three years, SOAR begins with a comprehensive induction at the Mahindra Leadership University.
On overall hiring policies, Irani said, “We follow a balanced interview slate. We don’t have a fixed target for hiring women. We want to hire the best talent, irrespective of gender. Every gender should be given a fair chance,” he added. “We are trying to address gender disparity in M&M by first beefing up infrastructure at remote locations, comfort rooms, toilets since factories have been largely male dominated.”
