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Industry Overview

Assembly line/ heavy manufacturing industry includes manufacturing of electronics equipment, electrical equipment, heavy machinery and equipment, and specialised vehicles. As of 2025, the industry employs approximately 3.94 million workers,^[1] and headcount is expected to grow at 4% CAGR to approximately 4.81 million by 2030.^[2] This growth is driven by government’s production-linked incentives, import substitution, power-grid expansion, renewable-energy integration, and a sustained public and private investment in infrastructure.

Why should assembly line/ heavy manufacturing companies aim to improve gender equity?^[3]

Hiring more women can:

• Improve work quality (e.g., fewer errors in products assembled by women, lower rejection rate of products inspected by women)
• Improve productivity (e.g., more products assembled per hour by women)
• Improve work culture (e.g., lower absenteeism amongst women)

Why do assembly line/ heavy manufacturing companies have low gender equity today? ^[4]

Company-level challenges

• Mangers perceive it as inappropriate for women to work in male-dominated plants
• Managers are reluctant to hire women for roles involving heavy lifting/ working at height (e.g., machine operators)
• Leadership places limited priority on gender diversity
• Managers lack the skills and experience to hire and retain women (e.g., not using referrals to hire women)

Ecosystem-level challenges

• Plants, in remote areas or during late hours, lack affordable and safe transport facilities
• Some laws make women uncompetitive in labour market (e.g., mandatory pick-up and drop for night shifts, maternity benefits act)
• Families do not permit women to work in plants due to safety biases (e.g., accidents at work, physical exertion)
• Societal expectations limit women’s enrolment in non- traditional ITI courses required for certain roles (e.g., machine operator, welder)

Where is the opportunity to add more women in assembly line/ heavy manufacturing industry?^[4]

Entry-level roles in assembly line/ heavy manufacturing industry include production roles such as assembly line worker, machine operator, quality inspector, and support roles such as packer, store assistant, and security. Overall, gender diversity in the assembly line/ heavy manufacturing industry is 12%. The industry has high potential for employing more women in certain production and support roles:

• Assembly line, quality control, and support roles comprise 60-80% of entry-level workforce, but gender diversity in these roles varies from 15% to 30%
• Most of these roles require only a 10^th or 12^th pass qualification, have limited manager bias, and some roles even have demonstrated business benefits (e.g., higher precision in assembly line roles) making these a suitable entry point for non-graduate women

How can assembly line/ heavy manufacturing companies make the roles more gender-equitable?^[4]

• Build the organization’s capability (1-6 months): Lay the foundation by implementing inclusive hiring practices, establishing dedicated support for women (e.g., woman POC), and sensitizing managers on gender biases
• Prioritise and implement (6-18 months): Ensure sustained focus by creating inclusive infrastructure, strengthening hiring (e.g., paid women referral program) and retention practices, and building buy-in via business benefits dissemination
• Embed and scale (18-36 months): Institutionalise gender diversity by investing in transport support and automation, diversifying hiring channels, and embedding accountability via internal diversity KPIs and guidelines for contract manufacturers

How can assembly line/ heavy manufacturing companies track their progress on gender equity?

The Gender Equity Readiness Scorecard (GERS) is an open-source tool which offers a quick, objective assessment of gender equity within a company. The assembly line/ heavy manufacturing GERS tool evaluates progress on gender equity across four dimensions – outcome, infrastructure, workplace practices, and accountability. Assembly line/ heavy manufacturing companies can use the GERS tool to get a clear, objective baseline of their performance on gender equity in entry-level roles, identify the next set of practices to implement, and track progress over time. Ecosystem players (e.g., governments, funders) can leverage the GERS to nudge companies to prioritise gender equity, benchmark companies on their performance, identify emerging trends and challenges, and prioritise specific incentives/ programs for improving gender equity in the industry.