[Venkatesh]

"Women just don’t get cars!"
At MG, women don’t just get cars, they actually build them. We are excited to announce the rollout of our 50,000th Hector, made entirely by women.
We are proud of our 33% women workforce and aim to reach 50%. : Morris Garages India

https://youtu.be/5VO3E6uznAQ

Link

[CEF_Beasts]

A cool photo op for the occasion!

[TusharK]

MG Motor India has reached a new production milestone as the 50,000th Hector rolled out of its manufacturing facility in Halol, Gujarat.



The milestone car was assembled entirely by the plant's women employees. MG claims that out of the total workforce, 33% are women. Going forward, the company aims to employ more women with an aim to achieve 50% gender diversity.

The Hector was the brand's first product that was launched in India in June 2019. In 2021, the SUV received a mid-life facelift.

Earlier this month, MG added petrol-CVT variants to the line-up. The Hector CVT is powered by a 1.5-litre, turbo-petrol engine that produces 141 BHP and 250 Nm. The engine is paired with an 8-step continuously variable transmission (CVT).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VO3E6uznAQ

[RedTerrano]

Why is this even news?

We are a country of Goddesses and Queens millennia.
Indian ladies got voting right exactly the day Indian men got theirs, on 26 Jan 1950. Compare this to western countries.
India has already been fortunate enough to be led by a Durga like Smt. Indira Gandhi. Again compare to other countries.
Indian ladies yield to no one when it comes to scaling heights. Be it in business or the armed forces, or sending orbiters to Mars.

So again, why is this even news.

In my opinion, when we blindly ape the west, and glorify such "achievements" we demean all the awesome ladies who have made it big and in fact end up condescending their achievements. Oh look! Some ladies built cars. Cute!
If we never "celebrate" say men building houses, we certainly do not need to single out women. Of course they built cars. Why is anyone surprised? Why does anyone think their gender would be an obstacle in their ability to manufacture automobiles?

YMMV.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

Why is this even news?

Agreed with you, but you have to give credit where it is due. MG is able to "stay in the news" quite innovatively. For a company that had just 2 cars on sale until the last year & 3 now, you will frequently see news & threads on them. The coverage that MG gets far exceeds what some brands with even 5 - 6 cars enjoy. Sort by brand and MG has like 100 news articles on Team-BHP itself! That's like an average of 8 per month.

Indian ladies got voting right exactly the day Indian men got theirs, on 26 Jan 1950. Compare this to western countries.

If we never "celebrate" say men building houses, we certainly do not need to single out women. Of course they built cars.

[click]

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

Why is this even news?

We are a country of Goddesses and Queens millennia.

Well India may have all that you mention, but apart from urban world we are still quite a patriarchal society. Equal voting rights do not mean all women are treated equally or given equal opportunities to grow and succeed. Those who do are exceptional but also have to struggle a lot more to get there compared to men. So it is also important to hail good news and keep on giving younger generation better examples.

I have witnessed patriarchal society first hand when I travelled across Rajasthan and MP with very regressive attitude towards anything out of their caste based systems. Kerela is probably one of the few states where equality is better than the rest.

Unfortunate reality of our culture system is that like our goddesses and queens, our society in general likes our women to be sitting in one place and to be silent. The minute they make some noise or have opinions... well just see the news now-a-days.

[starrys987]

Originally Posted by click

Well India may have all that you mention, but apart from urban world we are still quite a patriarchal society. Equal voting rights do not mean all women are treated equally or given equal opportunities to grow and succeed. Those who do are exceptional but also have to struggle a lot more to get there compared to men. So it is also important to hail good news and keep on giving younger generation better examples.

Agree with you here. Just try to gather the women workforce data from other auto manufacturers and compare it. MG will be leaps ahead on that aspect.

When someone is consciously working towards ensuring the women of our society are represented as they should be, it makes all the more sense for this to be news. I have first hand experiences of our patriarchy even in the corporate world. This kind of news helps in the rest of industry take notice which is good for creating an equal society in the long run.

Kudos to MG to turn the tide in their favour post their chinese image few months back. I believe a diesel automatic will enable MG to grab bigger chunk from the market.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by click

Well India may have all that you mention, but apart from urban world we are still quite a patriarchal society. Those who do are exceptional but also have to struggle a lot more to get there compared to men. So it is also important to hail good news and keep on giving younger generation better examples.

Unfortunate reality of our culture system is that like our goddesses and queens, our society in general likes our women to be sitting in one place and to be silent.

Originally Posted by starrys987

I have first hand experiences of our patriarchy even in the corporate world. This kind of news helps in the rest of industry take notice which is good for creating an equal society in the long run.

Cannot agree more with you both! Frankly, I am disappointed to see pessimistic comments regarding an event that should be advertised and lauded. We sit in our metro cities surrounded by what seems to be gender-neutral society (am being as optimistic as I can get here), and feel that women are easily competing with men in nearly all spheres of life.

BUT dig a little deeper at least into the manufacturing sector, and it is clear that women are still badly under-represented and with a very obvious glass ceiling above them. Any proactive steps taken to increase women in the manufacturing sector is a move in the right direction.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by TusharK

The milestone car was assembled entirely by the plant's women employees. MG claims that out of the total workforce, 33% are women.

This stands out for me more than those Production numbers. Good on MG for getting women on the Production team.

[landcruiser123]

Wow, considering all the (negative) sentiments endured by that brand, this is a great achievement. I wish they brings more products to our shores and stir up the competition.

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

In my opinion, when we blindly ape the west, and glorify such "achievements" we demean all the awesome ladies who have made it big and in fact end up condescending their achievements.....Why does anyone think their gender would be an obstacle in their ability to manufacture automobiles?

The average woman still has it very tough and needs more opportunities to work for India to achieve gender equality. Heck, there are very few women and minorities leading Fortune 500 companies in the US. Gender hasn't got anything to do with ability for sure. For every exceptional achiever, I'm sure many women don't opportunities. Many in my mom's generation (currently about 50 years) in the family don't work at a formal workplace, but my female cousins in my generation are entering the workforce and doing very well.

Production is generally considered a man's job, but seeing so many women on a line makes me happy- I was part of a training program @ Hyundai Chennai and hadn't seen a single woman on the floor in my one week across different plants in the facility.

Women are equally capable, and sometimes superior.

[roy_libran]

This is perhaps the first time that I am appreciating something coming out of MG!

I commend MG for not only making women a substantial part of their workforce, setting targets to increase their proportion but in making a substantial statement about it. I am sure this will get picked up by many other companies as well, and that will mean a lot more available jobs for the women of this country.

Kudos MG.

[mayankk]

This brand sure does know how to stay in the news. And in a good way.

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

Why is this even news?

MV.

In India? This wouldn't be news? Why not? And how is this aping the west blindly???
A claimed workforce of 33% women, in this sector? I don't think even the biggest corporates, homegrown or otherwise, have those numbers. Shame.

Edit : here's a couple of successful women who did not feel their achievements to be demeaned by this news.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

...
...why is this even news....

Simple answer: role models.

I'd love to live in a world where one's merit, or even one's opportunity to access and achieve said merit, depended solely on what's between one's ears, not what's between one's legs.

Until then, every single woman, including all that have and those that will go on to achieve something in traditionally male industries, need to 'make the news', because every instance inspires another woman somewhere to join the workforce, and gets us closer to (and I hope to join you in) justifiably exclaiming: 'This isn't news anymore!'.

[yd_gli]

I have worked in Indian manufacturing for more than a decade now. Both as an OEM and as a Tier 1 supplier. Trust me, a >30% female employee is a phenomenal achievement. Kudos to MG on this!!

If someone still doesn't want to take my word, please visit the FCA, TML, Mahindra plants in Pune and you will know what I am talking about. Tier 1s have an almost zero representation from women thanks to the abysmal work conditions (harassment, exploitation) and business owners who still live in the 80s. Heck, even most desk oriented service industry organizations providing mechanical engineering as a service have a tough time exceeding the 20% number.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by click

Well India may have all that you mention, but apart from urban world we are still quite a patriarchal society. Equal voting rights do not mean all women are treated equally or given equal opportunities to grow and succeed. Those who do are exceptional but also have to struggle a lot more to get there compared to men. So it is also important to hail good news and keep on giving younger generation better examples.

I have witnessed patriarchal society first hand when I travelled across Rajasthan and MP with very regressive attitude towards anything out of their caste based systems. Kerela is probably one of the few states where equality is better than the rest.

Unfortunate reality of our culture system is that like our goddesses and queens, our society in general likes our women to be sitting in one place and to be silent. The minute they make some noise or have opinions... well just see the news now-a-days.

Well said. Just making a lady a PM, or a CEO or seating a few ladies in the cockpits of airliners and fighter jets doesn't entitle us to the claim of being most women-friendly. I grew up in Bihar and have first hand knowledge of how women are discriminated against. Not just Bihar, almost all rural areas of hinterland North will show you more or less same pic. What is khaap panchayat diktat? Women shouldn't wear jeans, no schools for them, no cell phones. How is it any different from Taliban? We still have a long way to go.

Coming to MG news, kudos to them. I don't know how praising this is aping west? MG deserves accolades for this initiative. BTW, I am seeing lot of new MGs in my town. Not sure if people are buying into British heritage thingy or have come to appreciate it for what it is.