Greater Noida (Staff Correspondent): In a sector long regarded as one of the most male-dominated in the world, Vedanta Limited is boldly rewriting the rules — not just within its own operations, but across the larger employment landscape of India’s industrial economy. With women now comprising 28% of its leadership roles and 21% of its overall workforce, Vedanta has surpassed global benchmarks in the metals and mining industry, where the average female representation in leadership is just 8%, according to the World Bank. But these numbers are more than a statistic — they reflect a cultural shift, driven by deliberate intent and bold action.
Madhu Srivastava, Chief Human Resources Officer of Vedanta Limited, remarked, “The future must be inclusive at the very outset. Our commitment is not just to include women – it’s to elevate them as central architects of transformation. At Vedanta, we recognize that societal expectations can create invisible barriers to women’s growth. That’s why our policies are designed to acknowledge these unique challenges and actively dismantle them by supporting professional growth for women, especially working mothers, through various life stages.”
At the heart of this transformation is a proactive effort to identify and dismantle the invisible barriers that women often face in industrial roles. “The future must be inclusive at the very outset,” says Madhu Srivastava, Chief Human Resources Officer at Vedanta Limited. “Our commitment is not just to include women — it’s to elevate them as central architects of transformation.” With this ethos, Vedanta has designed policies that provide real, tangible support for women, especially working mothers, through various life stages — ensuring that careers are not interrupted, but continuously nurtured.
These values have come alive in groundbreaking initiatives across Vedanta’s operations. At its Jharsuguda aluminium plant in Odisha, the largest in the world, an entire potline — a critical segment of the smelting process — is run exclusively by women. This is not a symbolic gesture, but a strategic move to place women at the core of production and innovation. Similarly, Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta Group company, was the first in India to deploy women engineers in underground mines, following the 2019 regulatory shift. These milestones are not just progressive HR interventions; they are reshaping how women are viewed and valued in heavy industries.
Perhaps most notably, Vedanta has set a national precedent in mine safety by establishing India’s first all-women underground mine rescue team at the Rajpura Dariba Complex, with a second team now operational at Rampura Agucha. These highly trained women are adept in high-stakes disciplines like CPR, fire safety, and SCBA operation — roles that demand both mental and physical fortitude, and which now serve as powerful symbols of what inclusive industry leadership looks like.
Vedanta’s journey proves that when inclusion is embedded in the business model, transformation follows — not only within boardrooms and plants, but across society. In leading by example, Vedanta isn’t just advancing women’s representation in industry — it’s forging a new future for India’s workforce, one where leadership knows no gender, and ambition meets equal opportunity.
