Mahindra & Mahindra has inaugurated India’s first all-women-run automobile service workshop in Jaipur. This is part of the company’s larger initiative named ‘Pink Collars’ to promote recruitment of women in core productive roles across the company’s automobile workshops.

The nine-women-staffed Compact Qwik (CQ) outlet is a category of Mahindra-authorised, two-bay urban workshop that caters to scheduled services. Owned and operated by Mahindra’s channel partner – Kalyan Motors in Jaipur – the Compact Qwik workshop is now run by a team of women in roles such as technicians, service advisors, drivers, part managers and security guards.

Speaking on the initiative, Veejay Ram Nakra, Chief of Sales & Marketing, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra, said: “At Mahindra, we are delighted to inaugurate India’s first ever automobile workshop powered entirely by women. Through the Pink Collars, we aim to skill and empower more women, which will result in a gender-diverse and inclusive workforce in our workshops.”

Qwik service at a CQ outlet requires two technicians to work in tandem on one vehicle following standard operating procedures and to maximise productivity. Mahindra says it is committed to scaling up the drive of inducting women employees at its authorised workshops with inclusive policies for women at its channel partners. The company has waived off the technical training fee of women-dealer employees and encourages dealers to recruit women as one-third of their trainees.

M&M’s Pink Collar initiative encourages channel partners to tie up with Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and impart up-to-date industrial knowledge through the company’s expert trainers, provide automotive aggregates to support practical training and make the ITI students industry-ready. Special recruitment drives are conducted for girl students at these ITIs by Mahindra’s authorised dealers to identify and recruit women talent. 

Following their selection in the Pink Collars program in August this year, these staffers underwent rigorous technical training at Mahindra Institute of Learning Excellence (MILE) where they learnt their skills on Mahindra’s range of vehicles and acquired a hands-on experience.