The Udaiti Foundation has launched Gender-Smart Manufacturing: A Leadership Playbook for Building Inclusive Shopfloors, a new report that addresses one of Indian manufacturing’s most persistent workforce gaps: the disconnect between women’s presence in the talent pipeline and their limited representation on the shopfloor. Drawing on conversations with industry leaders, shopfloor workers and field visits across India’s pharmaceutical manufacturing clusters, the playbook moves the conversation on gender inclusion from intent to implementation, offering a practical roadmap for business leaders to build more inclusive shopfloors.

India’s pharmaceutical sector, the world’s largest supplier of generic drugs and a major global supplier of vaccines, is projected to grow to roughly USD 130 billion by 2030. Backed by policy support such as the INR 10,000 crore Biopharma SHAKTI scheme and Production Linked Incentive schemes, the sector is expected to add more manufacturing capacity in the next five years than it did in the previous decade.

Pooja Sharma Goyal, Founding CEO, The Udaiti Foundation, commented, “India’s pharmaceutical sector has earned its global standing through precision, discipline, and process excellence. Yet women continue to remain underrepresented in this sector. Women’s representation in NSE-listed pharma companies has risen from 8 percent to 12 percent over the last five years, but account for only 12 percent of the pharma manufacturing workforce. Research indicates that while gender diversity is a priority for 73 percent of hiring managers, only 21 percent have a clear internal strategy to translate those goals into action. Women are well-positioned to contribute to the strengths this sector depends on, but their participation continues to be challenged by how shopfloors are designed, managed, and supported. This playbook offers a practical roadmap to address those barriers and increase women’s participation in manufacturing. As capacity expands rapidly, companies that build inclusive shopfloors early will be better positioned to lead the sector’s next phase of growth.”

The playbook outlines three key pillars to increase women's participation in core manufacturing roles such as production operations, maintenance, engineering and frontline supervision. The first pillar, Recruitment and Training, addresses societal norms and exclusionary hiring practices that limit women's entry into manufacturing. It highlights initiatives such as Dr. Reddy's Laboratories' SMT Programme, which provides free education and hostel facilities to local candidates, and Cipla's Neev Programme, which combines technical training with paid work and achieved a 34 percent female cohort in 2023–24.

The second pillar, Retention and Growth, focuses on reducing attrition during critical life-stage transitions such as marriage, maternity and caregiving, which are often exacerbated by inflexible shift structures and inadequate frontline support. The playbook cites Hindustan Unilever's Partnership Workshops, which foster shared purpose and challenge traditional perceptions of shopfloor roles, resulting in near-zero attrition through comprehensive medical and caregiving support. It also highlights Dr. Reddy's Laboratories' bridge courses, which help women transition from packaging, quality assurance and quality control roles into core manufacturing positions by strengthening their technical readiness and confidence.

The third pillar, Norms and Infrastructure, emphasises the need to redesign workplaces that have traditionally been built around male-centric standards. The playbook showcases Tata Motors' Omega Line, where workstation layouts were redesigned and semi-automation introduced to better accommodate a diverse workforce. It also highlights Good Business Lab's STITCH programme, a supervisor training initiative that achieved a 15 percent reduction in worker turnover and a 7.3 percent improvement in production line efficiency, demonstrating how inclusive workplace practices can enhance both employee well-being and operational performance.

As India works toward its Viksit Bharat ambitions and a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047, achieving a Female Labour Force Participation Rate of 50 percent will be foundational to that journey. The playbook positions pharma manufacturing as one of the clearest proof points that these barriers are solvable and that the practices already working in pharma can inform broader change across auto components, electronics, chemicals and food processing, where women continue to be concentrated in narrow roles or excluded from core shopfloor functions.