Equality, Please: Women Pave the Way in Electric Vehicle Jobs

A major win for workplace and gender equality: four-fifths of the workforce in an electric vehicle factory in India are women, in a country where only about 20% of women are in the labor force. 

Sales of electric vehicles (EV) — such as electric scooters, rickshaws, and cars — have surged by more than 200% in India over the past couple of years. With a focus on electronics, assembly, and design — as opposed to working with internal combustion engine vehicles which rely on heavy machinery — jobs in the EV sector are more widely available to women. 

“[I wanted to] break the bias about what girls can and cannot do,” says Nasreen Banu, a 25-year-old first-generation woman from her family who studied and found a job, and who is now working as a production supervisor at an EV factory in India. Another woman, Sulajja Firodia Motwani, now founder and CEO of Kinetic Green explains, “I have earned my place in the industry … I never took this platform for granted. I was back at work four days after my baby was born.” 

As far as the Delhi government is concerned, it is also removing certain restrictions which make it easier for women to find and keep jobs. What’s more, rising EV sales are a good sign for the environment, and they are typically easier to safely maneuver. Thanks to both the EV sector and brave women such as Banu and Motwani, more and more women are getting involved and finding new opportunities. That sure is one (EV) train we could get behind!