Social — Diversity, Equity and Inclusion | Hindustan Zinc Integrated Annual Report FY2025-26

Zinclusion: Driving Representation, Equity & Workforce Evolution

As Hindustan Zinc advances its ambition of 2x business expansion, our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) philosophy remains a core enabler of sustainable growth, workforce resilience, and future-ready talent. We believe that an organisation poised for exponential scale must be built on the foundations of equity, representation, and psychological safety, ensuring every employee thrives as a key contributor to the Company's transformation journey.

During FY2026, Zinclusion continued to deepen workplace inclusion by creating greater representation across gender, age, education, and regional diversity.

Enabling Policies and Practices

This momentum was fuelled by pioneering inclusion policies at Hindustan Zinc, including financial assistance, gender reaffirmation support to LGBTQIA+, parenthood, and inclusive housing benefits. These initiatives help remove structural barriers and create an enabling environment for long-term career growth.

LGBTQIA+ workforce participation, reflecting equitable opportunities for transgender employees.

Creating Meaningful Career Pathways

Beyond policy, the transgender professionals are being integrated into core, high responsibility functions such as finance, supply chain, marketing, laboratory operations, and medical services. By opening doors to mainstream roles in a traditionally male-dominated sector, Hindustan Zinc is not only fostering inclusion but also creating meaningful, skill-enhancing career pathways that empower transgender employees to thrive, contribute, and grow as valued members of our workforce.

PRISM Under Zinclusion: Shaping a Safer Workplace

Under the Zinclusion umbrella, PRISM (Prevention, Response, Inclusion, Safety & Mindset) strengthened workplace respect and accountability across locations. The initiative advanced organisational capability by strengthening awareness on Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH), Internal Complaint Committee readiness, and leadership accountability for dignity at work. These efforts integrate safety and inclusion into everyday decisions, reinforcing that trust, fairness, and respect are non-negotiable for achieving performance outcomes.

Women Development through Technology, Opportunity & Sponsorship

Hindustan Zinc's women in workforce movement continues to create industry benchmarks:

Night shifts for women across mines and smelters
IGNITE leadership programme, a sponsorship-based development journey, to develop next cadre of women leaders
India's first women underground mine managers and all-women mine rescue teams
TEJASWINI initiative to introduce all-women operational shifts at the Chanderiya Smelting Complex
Expanded opportunities for women across mining, smelting, and digital operations due to technology integration, safety-first design, and inclusive job structuring

TEJASWINI

Launched on International Women's Day 2026, it introduces all-women operational shifts at the Chanderiya Smelting Complex. This is a landmark step in Hindustan Zinc's commitment to gender equity. The initiative places women in leaching & purification section, a critical smelting function, where an all-women team now manages core processes, maintenance activities, and production operations.

Creating a Safe and Enabling Workplace

To support this transition, comprehensive infrastructure upgrades such as CCTV surveillance, dedicated support facilities, enhanced transport systems, and robust on-floor safety mechanisms were implemented. TEJASWINI redefines inclusion in heavy-industry by creating a safer, gender-balanced workplace for women in metals and mining.

Launch of Inclusive Language Guidebook

The launch of Inclusive Language Guidebook further institutionalised respectful communication practices, reinforcing inclusivity in daily interactions.

An e-module has been designed with real-time examples to promote awareness amongst the employees, covering 100% of our organisation. As a next step, we are planning to create a regional language guidebook as well which would be shared across the organisation for ensuring inclusivity.