Vedanta Aluminium urges women to explore careers in metals and mining

Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, has on International Women’s Day, released #TheFutureOfMetAL, a compelling social media campaign on women in metals and mining. It leverages generative AI and short films to encourage more women to explore rewarding careers in these industries.

The campaign comes as a response to industry efforts to increase female representation in the sectors, which has progressed slowly largely due to entrenched biases and a lack of suitable role models. Vedanta Aluminium states that it already has an industry-leading number of women employees, and aims to ensure that 50% of all new hires are women.

The #TheFutureOfMetAL campaign creatively tackles this challenge in two ways. Firstly, it positions the overall industry as an attractive destination for early-career women professionals. Secondly, it also presents a ‘slice of life’ glimpse of those already managing core operations at Vedanta Aluminium, highlighting strong role models from the company’s own employees to help more women visualise what a career in the industry would look like.  Through these campaigns, Vedanta Aluminium aims to accelerate towards its goal of having women comprise at least a third of all its employees in the near future.

Vedanta Aluminium's #TheFutureOfMetAL campaign encourages more women to explore rewarding careers in the metals and mining industries.

The first part of the campaign, titled ‘Women of Mettle’, presents a series of short films featuring young women professionals performing crucial roles at Vedanta Aluminium. Uniquely in India, they are going a step further by working in the night shift, on an equal footing with male colleagues.

The second part, titled ‘The Future Female Series’, features women professionals from core functions at the company, such as mine operations, metal production, power generation, plant management, and asset security. Using Generative AI technology, it depicts these employees transitioning from their current settings to a technologically advanced future, representing how these careers will remain aspirational even in the times ahead.

The narratives presented in the campaign are significant as women continue to be grossly underrepresented in the metals, mining and manufacturing sectors. These industries are expected to grow exponentially owing to India’s rapid economic progress and the accelerating energy transition globally, which calls for a metal-intensive future. Vedanta Aluminium is also actively expanding its operations to cater to this growing demand. It will result in an explosion of new career pathways in these sectors. However, they face a widening talent gap, led by misconceptions that jobs in these areas necessitate physically intensive labour, which has in fact been negated with the introduction of technologies such as robotics and automation as well as improved processes.

 John Slaven, CEO, Vedanta Aluminium said, “At Vedanta Aluminium, we are building an environment primed for high performance and innovation. Boosting female participation in our teams provides us with invaluable access to a wider spectrum of opinions and perspectives. This in turn provides for well-rounded decision-making, enables us to cater to diverse markets and ensures superior customer service. Addressing the gender gap doesn’t just make solid business sense, it also allows for equitable and sustainable growth.”

 Vedanta Aluminium has deployed several initiatives to boost the participation of women within its industry. It is the first in Odisha to deploy women employees in the night shift, expanding the number of opportunities available to them. In addition, the company has rolled out flexible working policies to support its employees at different life stages. They also reside in townships in close proximity to its plants, with access to world-class amenities such as schools, hospitals, creches, places of worship, movie theatres, stadiums, swimming pools, recreation centres, gyms, and shopping complexes, all critical for a vibrant family and community life.