Maersk recently opened its new warehouse in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh. Located within the premises of the company’s Container Freight Station (CFS), the 100,000 sq. ft. warehouse is the first of its kind, with women running and operating all the jobs and tasks in the facility.
Strengthening its drive for improving gender diversity, Maersk has hired 84 women who needed employment but did not have the right opportunities.
The journey began in January 2022 when the existing team at the Dadri CFS started having a dialogue with local contracting agencies to build a case for women to be trained and offered employment in the upcoming new warehouse. Much deliberation later, the on-ground teams realised that the biggest challenge was convincing the families of the women to let them come and work in a warehouse. By March 2022, the teams started approaching the families of potential women candidates to counsel them about the benefits for the women who would work at the Maersk warehouse. Once the families were convinced about the women’s safety, hygienic working conditions, and fair opportunities, the organisational design was drawn, and workforce requirements were charted.
While some women could take up unskilled and semiskilled jobs immediately, others had to undergo skilling that involved operating Material Handling Equipment (MHE) such as reach trucks and forklifts. During April and May, the institute and trainers were identified to undertake specialised tasks training for these women. After much preparation, these women started receiving their training from July onwards.
Source: Maersk Group
