Vedanta Swears By Women Power

India's first all-women rescue team, flexibility in work hours and focus on employee mental well-being help company stand out as a future workplace.

- NEVIN JOHN

PRIYA AGARWAL HEBBAR, daughter of industrialist Anil Agarwal, holds a rare distinction when it comes to women leadership. The board of the company she heads as chairperson, Hindustan Zinc (HZL), a subsidiary of Vedanta Ltd., has more women than men-five women versus four men. "Our dedication to gender diversity is not rhetoric," she says.

HZL has another feather in its cap. It is the first mining company in India to have an all-women mine rescue team. "The team has seven women officers who underwent extensive training for tackling emergencies. The training was in accordance with international standards, with officers displaying determination and indomitable spirit," says Hebbar.

In 2019, when law permitted women to go underground, HZL became the first company in the country to have underground women mining engineers. Gender diversity in Vedanta Ltd. is 14%; it's targeting 20% by 2030. Hebbar, who holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology and Business Management from University of Warwick in the U.K., steers people's practices across Vedanta group. She is also on board of Vedanta Ltd.