A.P. Moller – Maersk has inaugurated its new warehouse in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, fully manned by women. Spread across 100,000 sq ft, the warehouse is located within the premises of the company’s Container Freight Station (CFS) and is the first of its kind, with women running and operating all the jobs and tasks in the facility.
Currently, 84 women are working at the facility at various levels, such as security and housekeeping, operating forklifts, handling cargo, operating computers, working on Tally jobs and managing clerical work.
The company noted that the journey for the women's team 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.
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.
While some women could take up unskilled and semiskilled jobs immediately, others had to undergo skilling that involved operating Material Handling Equipment such as reach trucks and forklifts.
During April and May, the institute and trainers were identified to undertake the training for these women in specialised tasks. After much preparation, these women started receiving their training from July onwards.
Sudeep Sivarajan, Depot Manager, Maersk, North India, noted that 84 women had joined a total workforce of 350 employees at the Dadri CFS, and they are being hugely motivated to improve the gender representation at the facility further.
Vikash Agarwal, Managing Director, Maersk South Asia, said, “At Maersk, we are constantly strengthening our efforts in the area of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). We also realise that in the larger DEI picture, gender diversity is a low-hanging fruit that can be addressed as long as there is a strong will to do so.”
He added that while expanding the warehouses across the country, Maersk wanted to create opportunities for women in a traditionally male-dominated sector.
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