India-based premier express air and integrated distribution company, Blue Dart has extended its market leadership tinged with of diversity and inclusion, with the launch of its first Blue Dart All Women Service Centre on the occasion of Women’s Day 2021.
Located in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, the All Women Service Centre comprises a team of 16 enthusiastic women who don the role of managers, customer service representatives, security personnel as well as sales and counter staff. This dynamic team will provide customers with the exceptional service quality that is synonymous with Blue Dart.
The logistics industry has been stereotyped over the years to foster a male majority. Blue Dart has been putting in a significant effort to alter this perception of the industry, ever since the organisation’s inception in 1983. With capable women encouraged to take on senior leadership roles in the organisation, Blue Dart is a testament to what being a gender inclusive organisation in the logistics industry denotes.
Additionally, Blue Dart is taking an inclusive diversity culture showing that such a ‘culture of inclusion’ has to be built. The ‘Employer of Choice’ plans on initiating more women into the Blue Dart family and will launch another service centre in Andheri, reminiscent of its Kharghar All Women Service Centre. The Andheri Service Centre will operate at a 70% women team capacity and will work shoulder to shoulder setting the pace of gender diversity.
Inaugurating the All Women Service Centre, Balfour Manuel, Managing Director, Blue Dart said, “With our ‘People First Philosophy’ at the forefront of our business, ALL our people – gender, age, race, caste no bar – continue to be a priority within the organisation. Blue Dart has always been an equal opportunity employer. We have always supported and encouraged our women colleagues to independently run their functions, seeing as their contributions have helped Blue Dart become the Gold Standard of Express Logistics in India. Blue Dart has nurtured strong women who have seized every opportunity that has come their way and fulfiled their roles and responsibilities to the fullest. From women couriers to our Senior Leadership team – Managing Director of Blue Dart Aviation, Tulsi Mirchandaney and our National Customer Service Head – Sonia Nair, women have played an integral role in leading Blue Dart to set and achieve new milestones, year on year. They remain an inspiration for many, me included.”
“Diversity is important, especially with our wide-ranging customer base. We require a diverse workforce that mirrors and understands each customer demographic deeply. This is the key to our success in helping us fulfil customer expectations and demand. I am proud to see another inclusivity initiative making its mark in the Blue Dart milestone book,” he further added.
Under the motto of ‘Connecting People, Improving Lives’, Blue Dart focusses on three key pillars, GoGreen (Protecting the environment), GoTeach (Championing education) and GoHelp (Disaster management response). While the focus lies on increasing diversity, efforts are also being made to curb the carbon footprint. The express logistics provider has therefore introduced electric vehicles for women couriers, to ensure that their services have an increased carbon efficiency.
Blue Dart has pioneered several gender diversity initiatives such as highlighting its women couriers through the ‘Thank You, You Inspire Us’ series. The logistics provider has initiated a ‘Why Do We Love to Work for Blue Dart’ portal on its website career page. This aims to provide prospective female Blue Darters with an understanding of what working at Blue Dart as a woman looks like. The portal contains testimonies from women working with Blue Dart who have found success within the organisation’s varying roles. They have also engaged all Blue Darters to help bring more women on board with the Female Employee Referral Program. Further, as part of the women in Aviation, Blue Dart works closely with the Airports Authority of India each year, to familiarise young schoolgirls with various aspects of the aviation industry.
