Women hiring in Electronics Manufacturing to grow tenfold: Teamlease

Breaking Norms: The Electronics Manufacturing Segment (EMS) is set to witness a tenfold growth in women employees, from 10-20 per cent upto 100 per cent, as per IT staffing company Teamlease.

Notably, the top 5 Electronics Manufacturing Sector (EMS) companies are leaning towards an all-women workforce in their factories. 

The manufacturing segment, which was usually dominated by men, is seeing an uptick in female hiring in states like  Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Maharastra, Subburathinam P, Chief Strategy Officer, TeamLease Services said.

With India stepping up its potential in manufacturing for consumer electronics, semiconductors and the like, more EMS organizations are setting up or ramping up their facilities in the above states, and hiring more women.

“As per industry experts, EMS requires finger dexterity for fine component assembly with a focused approach.  In all these, women perform better than men on the assembly line,” Subburathinam said.

Challenges to female participation in the segment include the mental barrier of women investing long or late working hours in production and manufacturing roles.

“Women attritions are lower than men, however the naturally occurring life stages of Marriage and Childbirth are key factors of women attrition for EMS is a labour-intensive segment,”  Subburathinam noted.

It is also important to set expectations for first-time employees, as well as inform them on safety measures and rules like wearing gloves, or the role being more sitting or standing-based. 

The age group of female participation in this segment is from 18 to 30, with the average age group hovering around 22, he stated.

In order to promote safety, well-being, and productivity among employees, measures like employee training and development apart from fair compensation and benefits, as well as health and safety measures are recommended.

Changing labour regulations for enhancing security,as well as permitting flexible work shifts and making basic facilities like dormitories can further retain female workforce and talent in this segment, he added.