Managing Director, Stallion-Bajaj Auto Keke, Manish Rohtagi, said every IWD was a reminder that there was still more work to be done to ensure more spaces are created for women to thrive.
He said the company re-examines its processes and structures driven by one goal to build a more inclusive workspace and ensured wage gaps are closed and equal opportunities are offered to women at all levels.
In achieving this, he said the plan was to establish Africa’s first women-only assembly plant in Nigeria and significantly grow female representation to 35 percent by the end of 2022.
In line with this vision, he said 40 women have been trained and integrated into the VON assembly plant in Lagos.
According to him, “To celebrate IWD this year, we will be welcoming a new set of female mechanics to the training programme. This is in line with our goal to train and absorb 500 female technicians by 2022. To achieve this, we will be holding several more training sessions for female riders, female assemblers, and female mechanics before the year runs out.”
When asked about the impact of the programme, a female assembler, Ayomide Sanyaolu said: “I am proud to be part of this exciting project. Being part of the first cohort employed at the plant, I have had to learn, fail and relearn. It has been a challenging but fulfilling period in my life. Seeing the end product of our work, the Kekes on the road gives me joy and job satisfaction. I am grateful to be part of the process.”
Rohtagi added that the goal this month was to celebrate women all around the world as they choose to challenge themselves as an organisation to continuously act on their commitment to gender equality.
