Bleseena and Sirisha may come across as ordinary young working women, but if you see them at work, your perception is bound to change.
For, their job is a little unusual — they are forklift truck drivers in what is a male-dominated field. Working in the logistics wing of IKEA’s upcoming Hyderabad store, they drive forklifts and operate them to carry material loads and stack pallets onto warehouse shelves or trucks. And in doing so with competence and ease, they shattered the myth that women shy away from taking up jobs that are ‘meant’ for men.
A forklift is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances as part of logistics operations. In a country where not many women are seen driving vehicles, Ikea Hyderabad store has eight women forklift drivers, and another 10 in its Pune distribution centre.
Impressed with them, the Swedish home furnishing and furniture major has more recruitments underway for its upcoming store in Hyderabad and distribution centres across India.
Family support
Sharing how they garnered support from their respective families and male colleagues who initially scoffed at them, they told The Hindu , “We convinced them to let us undergo training and after that, there was no looking back.”
What motivated the young women to break work barriers? City-bred Bleseena, youngest of four siblings, wanted to have a job before getting married.
After securing one in a private company as a packing co-worker, she saw male colleagues operating forklift trucks and wanted to try her hand at it.
After her manager reluctantly let her train, Bleseena surprised him by learning to operate forklift truck in just a week.
After joining IKEA that was looking to ensure gender balance in all its operations, she further trained to drive IKEA’s specialised forklift machine.
With a supportive husband, the mother of an 18-month-old girl says her ambition is to motivate more women to enter the field.
Sirisha, hailing from Addanki in Andhra Pradesh, had to persuade her husband to let her work as a forklift operator. “My proud moment was when my father, who could never learn driving, was happy to see me driving the big machine. My wish is now to train more women in rural areas to be forklift operators,” says Sirisha.
Globally, women constitute 55% of IKEA’s workforce and 49% of leadership roles were held by women.
In India, women constitute 48% of the workforce and the target is to achieve 50:50 in all levels and functions, says Anna-Carin Mansson, Retail Country HR Manager, IKEA.
“From accuracy to due diligence, women bring good skill set to the workplace. They are enthusiastic, ambitious and importantly have the values which IKEA swears by,” says John Achillea, MD, IKEA-Telangana.
