In recognition to its contributions towards building sustainable careers for women, KONE India has, once again, emerged as the 100 Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) 2019 by AVTAR Group and Working Mother Media. This is the successive fourth time for the company to be honored for the sustained initiatives undertaken to increase women’s workforce participation.

Dr. Saundarya Rajesh, Founder – President, AVTAR Group, Bhuvaneswari L, DGM – Material Management, ISU, KONE India, Archana Prakash, DGM – Performance & Rewards, KONE India, MP Saravanan, Director – HR & CSR, KONE India, Padmini Priya Darsini G, DGM – Design – R&D Centre, KONE India, DG Nithya Kalyani, Assistant Manager – HR – ISSC, KONE India, Ms. Subha V. Barry, President, Working Mother Media

KONE India is renowned for pioneering initiatives that help women build a successful career and offer them a well chalked out growth path. In the last annual year, KONE has introduced several key initiatives that help build a women-inclusive workplace including mentorship and wellbeing programmes, growth opportunities, amongst many others to ensure work-life balance for them. More importantly, the women already working with KONE India, have been associated for more than decades, and proudly advocate inclusion as equal opportunity in the organisation.

Commenting on the recognition, Mr. Amit Gossain, MD, KONE Elevator India stated, “At KONE, diversity and inclusion are inherent parts of the way we work, and we constantly strive towards building a high-trust culture that is unparalleled for women employees across India. We continue advancing diversity through our professional development, advancement and safety programs, and inclusive policies and benefits across every level and role. We firmly believe that gender diversity is not only for the organization, but also an important groundwork for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable economy.”

On the occasion, Mr. MP Saravanan, Director – HR & CSR, KONE Elevator India shared, “We are dedicated to empowering our women colleagues at KONE. Everyone has the same opportunities and we value everyone who is talented and wants to grow. With extremely unstable talent markets, this goes on to show that the organisations that invest in the growth and development of women in various positions are more expected to retain their talent.”

Commenting on the findings, Dr. Saundarya Rajesh, Founder-President, AVTAR Group, said, “It is extremely heartening to note that a milestone, originally envisaged as taking several decades to achieve in India, is now less than a decade away. By utilizing data about effectiveness of measures, companies are now very strategic about gender inclusion, which has translated into rapid results. The women are delighted and so are we! The year on year progress of companies, who have put themselves on a fast-track, via innovative practices and deep commitment is exemplary.”

Adding to this, Ms. Subha V. Barry, President, Working Mother Media, said, “Each year, we look forward to celebrating the 100 Best Companies in India by shining a spotlight on the work they are doing on behalf of women throughout the country. Much progress has been made. " 

About KONE

At KONE, our mission is to improve the flow of urban life. As a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, KONE provides elevators, escalators and automatic building doors, as well as solutions for maintenance and modernization to add value to buildings throughout their life cycle. Through more effective People Flow®, we make people's journeys safe, convenient and reliable, in taller, smarter buildings. In 2018, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 9.1 billion, and at the end of the year over 57,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. in Finland. www.kone.com

About KONE India

KONE’s presence in India dates back to 1984 and today it is the leading elevator company in India. Based in Chennai, KONE India serves customers all over the country through its 50+ branches and provides sustainable People Flow™ solutions for India’s rapidly growing cities. It employs 5000+ people in the country.

KONE’s production unit in Chennai produces elevators for the Indian market as well as for Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Chennai also has three training centers where KONE’s installation engineers and field mechanics are trained to meet KONE India’s strong reputation for high quality and uncompromised safety, as well as the expectations of Indian customers, when installing and maintaining elevators and escalators. KONE’s global technology and engineering center in Chennai, which is one of the eight global R&D center, is a testing and research hub, which supports the latest technology and development of future KONE solutions.

For more information, please visit www.kone.in.