So this is my experience with recruiters of Epiroc last year for a vacancy in HR for the Nashik location. I was shortlisted for the last round which is eventually a make or break round with the plant head and global head. When I was told they will schedule the interview soon I waited for the update. But did not receive any update. I called the recruiter (will not mention name as I respect his job and know its not they who make the decision) I followed up with them and got to know that the management team liked my profile since I had experiences of working with other big Swedish MNC’s though as per there D&I ratio they want a female candidate for this role. I was pretty much shocked with this feedback. First things first is if you want only a female candidate then in a job description you need to mention it (only female candidates ). Also I understand the D&I attribute and I feel it's an important aspect but only providing an opportunity to one specific gender is also not a sensible and fair policy. The selection must be done on merit and not on specific gender. I have worked with a Swedish MNC and there is a huge difference in the way D&I is managed as compared to Epiroc. Epiroc is blindly following only female specific strategy which is not fair. In a small town like Nashik opportunities should be equally distributed. I do not have anything against female candidates its just being strategic does not mean hire only female candidates. Merit, experience, skillset and similar company background are very much important