Vedanta Aluminium celebrated Pride Month to reaffirm its dedication to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace

2024-10-30 12:13:05 News & Society

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New Delhi; 29th June 2023: Vedanta Aluminium, India's largest producer of aluminium, celebrated Pride Month as an occasion to reaffirm its dedication to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. By recently welcoming two transgender professionals into its operations at Lanjigarh, Odisha, the company now employs nearly 30 transgender employees across all of its primary locations. These include its mega aluminium smelter in Jharsuguda, Odisha, its world-class alumina refinery in Lanjigarh, and its subsidiary BALCO, India's iconic aluminium producer based in Chhattisgarh. This comes as a significant achievement in Vedanta Aluminium's mission to foster a truly diverse workplace, placing the company among a handful of manufacturing and heavy engineering firms in India and the world to include LGBTQIA+ employees within core operations in varied roles such as asset security, materials movement and hospitality.

To ease the community's transition from the periphery of society to smart manufacturing plants, and help them evolve from semi-skilled people into professionals, Vedanta Aluminium has adopted a three-pronged approach, which includes:

Identification of trans people with a minimum required set of skills for working in a manufacturing industry, by conducting skill mapping studies
Extensive training programs for the recruits, aimed at honing the required skillsets, including soft skills and business knowledge
Building an empathetic & inclusive environment by conducting gender-sensitization sessions for its workforce, with respect to the social and psychological challenges of trans people, proper code of conduct and ways of working to build a cohesive and encouraging environment for all. This also includes ensuring required infrastructural augmentations
Globally, the gender diversity ratio in manufacturing and heavy engineering industries has been quite low, and this deficit is especially acute in the metals and mining sector. Recognizing the transformative power of diversity in generating multi-dimensional thinking and strategic decision-making, Vedanta Aluminium has embarked on a mission to break perception barriers to entering the manufacturing industry and is actively fostering a workforce that transcends gender boundaries. Since FY23, the company is endeavouring to expand its recruitment efforts to actively include members of the LGBTQIA+ community within its workforce, who otherwise often face challenges in securing sustainable livelihoods. With this, the company aims to create a paradigm shift towards acceptance and inclusivity in the manufacturing industry by hiring from this talent pool that remains untapped in mainstream sectors.

On the company's efforts to strengthen its diverse workforce, Mr Rahul Sharma, CEO, Vedanta Ltd ? Aluminium Business said, "As we navigate the diverse and complex landscape of our global markets and customers, we recognize the immense value of embracing diversity in all its forms. By seeking out individuals with diverse perspectives, experiences, skills, and educational backgrounds, we strengthen our pillar of employee centricity and the ability to develop well-rounded business strategies. True merit transcends gender, and we are committed to fostering a culture where every employee and partner feels embraced, empowered, and encouraged to unleash their limitless potential. We will continue to strive for a future where diversity is celebrated as a catalyst for innovation and success."

Sharing her experience, Ranjan Pradhan, one of the trans professionals recently hired at Lanjigarh said, "I am grateful for this opportunity to earn a sustainable livelihood and envision a brighter future for my personal and professional growth. Through such initiatives, Vedanta is helping bring the marginalised trans community into the mainstream, and also providing a safe and supportive environment to nurture our true potential."

Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India's largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India's aluminium i.e., 2.29 million tonnes in FY23. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 2nd in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2022 world rankings for aluminium industry, a reflection of its sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the 'Metal of the Future' for a greener tomorrow.

About Vedanta Aluminium Business:

Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India's largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India's aluminium i.e., 2.29 million tonnes in FY23. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 2nd in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2022 world rankings for aluminium industry, a reflection of its sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the 'Metal of the Future' for a greener tomorrow.

About Vedanta Limited:

Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world's leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa and Namibia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector. Vedanta is committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner and has pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the transition to net zero operations. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company's flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars, have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. Under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta's social initiatives, the Vedanta group has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on social impact programmes with a thrust on nutrition, women & child development, healthcare, animal welfare, and grass-root level sports. Vedanta and the group companies have been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and was conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020, Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate Governance 2022 and certified as a Great Place to Work 2022. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.