Kalinganagar: Tata Steel further expanded its transgender employee base last week by onboarding 12 Crane Operator Trainees from the LGBTQ+ community at its Kalinga Nagar plant, said an official press release.
In December 2021, in a landmark initiative, Tata Steel’s West Bokaro Division onboarded 14 transgender people as Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) Operators at its mines.
This step of onboarding the LGBTQ+ community not only aims to break the glass ceiling but also targets to mainstream transgender people in society.
Tata Steel’s Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) initiative aims at curating a workplace where everyone is respected, every voice is heard, and people can bring their authentic selves to work, the press release stated.
The onboarding event at Tata Steel Kalinganagar (TSK) was organized on February 17, 2022.
Atrayee Sanyal, Vice President, Human Resource Management, Tata Steel, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Rajiv Kumar, Vice President (Operations), TSK, Jaya Singh Panda, Chief L&D and Chief Diversity Officer, TSK, CL Karn, Chief Logistics Operations, TSK, and Imdad Ali, Chief Human Resource Business Partner, TSK, were also present during the occasion.
“I am pleased to welcome all the members into the Tata Steel family. We will continue with our efforts to drive LGBTQ+ inclusion and build a benchmark workplace. This journey of HR excellence has been extremely rewarding and motivates us to explore new horizons on diversity and inclusion,” said Atrayee Sanyal, VPHRM, Tata Steel.
The trainees will undergo training for a year before they begin working in the plant as Crane Operators.
“The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step and this step in our endeavour to make a more diverse and inclusive workplace here sets an important milestone. As an equal opportunity employer, Tata Steel respects the uniqueness of individuals and is putting its best foot forward to shape the workspace of tomorrow,” said Rajiv Kumar, VP (Operations), TSK.
D&I has been a part of Tata Steel’s ethos since long. The Company has taken several path-breaking initiatives, including menstrual leave, equal benefits for LGBTQ+ partners, gender-neutral parental leave, and support for gender confirmation.
Tata Steel is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, safe, and fair workplace and has taken a target of having 25 percent diverse workforce by 2025. Tata Steel is a certified gold employer under Workplace Equality Index for LGBT+ workforce, the press release added.
