http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/corporate-trends/infrastructure-companies-bridge-gender-divide/articleshow/11880588.cms
Companies are asking recruitment firms to help them hire women to manage highway toll plazas in the interiors, as they look to fill posts with employees who are dependable, loyal and trustworthy. They're doing their best to provide safety and facilities .
BANGALORE: As women in megacities and financial hubs rapidly move up the corporate ladder, their counterparts in rural areas are breaking new ground too, entering what were earlier exclusively male domains.
Infrastructure companies are asking recruitment firms to help them fill posts to manage highway toll plazas in the interiors. The companies, on their part, are looking to increase diversity at the workplace and bring on board who they see as more dependable, trustworthy employees.
Nearly three weeks ago, staffing firm TeamLease reportedly received a mandate from Mumbai-based infrastructure group Larsen and Toubro to make sure that 30% of toll booth operators and control managers in the interiors of Maharashtra and Gujarat, where highways are being constructed, are women. The company said it was looking for women as the "longevity" of such hires is more."We are experimenting with a pilot project and will try to hire women from a village nearby. There will be fewer arguments at the toll plaza, and women will be quicker in operation," says a senior L&T official who does not wish to be named.
The Bangalore-based staffing agency has started looking for candidates within a 20-km radius of construction sites, and is visiting colleges in the area. Its agents are also travelling door to door for women who are qualified and willing to work. "It is not easy to recruit women for these jobs because working conditions are harsh. They have to work in shifts and in an open environment," says Sangeeta Lala, cofounder, TeamLease.
Women staffers are not new at toll plazas, though. Ever since the government brought in private players last year due to increasing pilferage, there have been more women hires, says an NHAI official. Hyderabad-based Ramky Infrastructure hired 11 women for its highway projects in 2011. "They want to understand the execution at the site-level rather than wanting to sit in the comfort of the office, and are involved in design, planning and monitoring of highway projects," says C Sreenivasan, chief people officer.
The company now wants to hire women at the toll booth too. "Our first toll plaza for six-laning of the Agra-Etawah will be operational in the next five to six months. We have the option of hiring civil engineers and secondary school candidates for the post," says Sreenivasan. Since toll booths use sophisticated software, engineers and candidates who have completed their schooling are inducted to run them, at a remuneration of between Rs 10,000 and 20,000 per month.
Companies are asking recruitment firms to help them hire women to manage highway toll plazas in the interiors, as they look to fill posts with employees who are dependable, loyal and trustworthy. They're doing their best to provide safety and facilities .
BANGALORE: As women in megacities and financial hubs rapidly move up the corporate ladder, their counterparts in rural areas are breaking new ground too, entering what were earlier exclusively male domains.
Infrastructure companies are asking recruitment firms to help them fill posts to manage highway toll plazas in the interiors. The companies, on their part, are looking to increase diversity at the workplace and bring on board who they see as more dependable, trustworthy employees.
Nearly three weeks ago, staffing firm TeamLease reportedly received a mandate from Mumbai-based infrastructure group Larsen and Toubro to make sure that 30% of toll booth operators and control managers in the interiors of Maharashtra and Gujarat, where highways are being constructed, are women. The company said it was looking for women as the "longevity" of such hires is more."We are experimenting with a pilot project and will try to hire women from a village nearby. There will be fewer arguments at the toll plaza, and women will be quicker in operation," says a senior L&T official who does not wish to be named.
The Bangalore-based staffing agency has started looking for candidates within a 20-km radius of construction sites, and is visiting colleges in the area. Its agents are also travelling door to door for women who are qualified and willing to work. "It is not easy to recruit women for these jobs because working conditions are harsh. They have to work in shifts and in an open environment," says Sangeeta Lala, cofounder, TeamLease.
Women staffers are not new at toll plazas, though. Ever since the government brought in private players last year due to increasing pilferage, there have been more women hires, says an NHAI official. Hyderabad-based Ramky Infrastructure hired 11 women for its highway projects in 2011. "They want to understand the execution at the site-level rather than wanting to sit in the comfort of the office, and are involved in design, planning and monitoring of highway projects," says C Sreenivasan, chief people officer.
The company now wants to hire women at the toll booth too. "Our first toll plaza for six-laning of the Agra-Etawah will be operational in the next five to six months. We have the option of hiring civil engineers and secondary school candidates for the post," says Sreenivasan. Since toll booths use sophisticated software, engineers and candidates who have completed their schooling are inducted to run them, at a remuneration of between Rs 10,000 and 20,000 per month.
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