Vedanta Aluminium Business has launched 'Vedanta#BreakTheBias' Augmented Reality (AR) campaign on Instagram on International Women's Day.

The campaign is aimed at gamifying the message that female students and professionals should actively consider a career in the manufacturing industry, which is the most under-represented in terms of gender diversity. The Vedanta#BreakTheBias AR selfie filter invites the viewer to visualize themselves in manufacturing gear like hard hats and safety jackets with the backdrop of a manufacturing plant.

To use the filter, viewers can go to Vedanta Aluminium's Instagram handle (@vedanta_aluminiumbusiness), click on the filters section, and try out the first filter titled Vedanta#BreakTheBias. With the words 'Shout-out to women in manufacturing' and #BreakTheBias emblazoned across it, the AR campaign seeks to encourage both men and women to try out the filter and post their selfies on their Instagram handles to encourage women to opt for a career in manufacturing.

Globally, the number of women in manufacturing and heavy engineering segment has traditionally been less. Even today, manufacturing is not amongst mainstream career options for women, even for those choosing to be in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) related fields. On the other hand, the Indian manufacturing industry is rapidly evolving to be among the world's best. The growing degree of smart automation and leading-edge digital solutions being implemented at manufacturing plants such as Vedanta Aluminium's offer technologically evolved, high-impact and interesting career options for aspiring professionals. And yet, lack of awareness has kept women from actively considering a career in manufacturing.

Elaborating upon Vedanta Aluminium's approach to the three pillars of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), Rahul Sharma, CEO – Aluminium Business, Vedanta Limited, said: "At Vedanta Aluminium, we look at every role, no matter how traditional, as absolutely gender-neutral. Our markets, customers and businesses are diverse and complex. To match them, we believe in recruiting people with diverse points of view, experiences, skills, and education so that their business strategies are correspondingly well-rounded. We have one of the highest gender-diversity ratios in the heavy engineering and metals sectors in the country owing to our industry-leading people-practices. We are determined that this number will continue to increase significantly."

Besides core operations, women professionals also lead various unconventional roles at Vedanta Aluminium. For example, 'Agnivahini' is an all-women firefighting squad in charge of ensuring fire safety at Vedanta Aluminium's largest aluminium smelter in Jharsuguda (Odisha), which is also one of the largest aluminium smelters in the world. The same plant has also deployed 'Baaz', an all-women special task force trained in martial arts to serve as the first responders in case of any unforeseen circumstances. 'Baaz' has access to state-of-the-art gadgets and surveillance equipment to monitor the plant premises and ensure a safe working environment for all.