As more and more corporations worldwide are aggressively pushing to improve diversity at the workplace and close the gender gap, Vodafone India Inc has taken it to a new level by exploring retail as a means to empower female employees. The ‘Angel Stores’, a unique initiative launched by Vodafone, one of India’s leading telecommunications service providers, is testimony to this fact.

Angel Stores are Vodafone retail outlets managed and run entirely by women employees – including security, pantry staff, customer service resources, as well as management level personnel. In terms of scale of operations, average footfalls or ratio of male and female customers, Angel Stores operate just the same way as any other Vodafone retail outlet. They cater to the product and service needs of all customers and are undifferentiated in all aspects, except that the staff members are all women.

Over time, the Vodafone Angel Stores have succeeded in building and maintaining loyalty among all their customers – both men and women. The customer service at these stores is in a class with any other Vodafone retail outlet, as has been the Vodafone tradition. The female staff are friendly and help customers feel at ease when visiting the stores and purchasing products, thus enhancing customer experience.

With 34 Angel Stores across 21 circles in the country, Vodafone is the first telecom company in the country to empower women employees through a retail presence. The initiative is in line with Vodafone’s endeavour of encouraging diversity and inclusion at workplace by constantly improving and reinventing itself and offering its employees with best in industry workplace conditions.

Platforms like Angel Stores can be great building blocks in driving social and economic development. They are a big step forward for the advancement of women empowerment in India, as they lay great emphasis on equal rights and sustainable employment opportunities and follow global best practices in encouraging women to aspire for and achieve their career ambitions. By providing one of the most secure and productive working environments, they help achieve gender diversity that is imperative for workplaces.