WCIC’s Empowering Women Leadership Forum 2024 on 14 March

Prof. Maithree Wickremesinghe

CIPE Director  Barbra Langley

McKinsey & Company Malaysia Managing PartnerVidhya Ganesan

Celebrating empowerment and leadership, the Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce Sri Lanka (WCIC) is gearing to present its much-anticipated Women Leadership Forum 2024, themed ‘#InspireInclusion - Count Her In.’ 

Scheduled on 14 March, at the Grand Ballroom - Galadari Hotel, Colombo, as a fully immersive one-day workshop for women in business.

WCIC is honoured to announce the support of McKinsey and Company as the Knowledge Partner, and Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) as the Collaborative Partner. These partnerships reflect the commitment to fostering inclusion and leadership among women and their continuous support to the WCIC.“The WLF 2024 of WCIC will focus on inclusion. We will focus on some critical areas that hamper inclusion in organisations. One such area is GBVH at workplace. The chamber actively drives the agenda to create workplaces free from GBVH in collaboration with CIPE. We intend to share some very interesting research findings through extensive qualitative research the Chamber conducted. The event will also consist of a centred leadership workshop by McKinsey and Co, which will be extremely valuable to all participants,” commented the Project Chair Tusitha Kumarakulasingam.

The morning session promises an enriching experience with a keynote speech on ‘Inspire Inclusion for Economic Prosperity’ by Chair and Senior Professor of English, and Founder Director of the Centre for Gender Studies, University of Kelaniya Prof. Maithree Wickremesinghe.

The agenda further includes an impactful address by CIPE Director Barbara Langley focusing on creating a work environment free from Gender-Based Violence and Harassment (GBVH). Her thoughts are likely to capture the extensive engagements WCIC is having related to the work is the space.

WCIC will share with the audience research insights related to GBVH and the current limitations in organisations when it comes to a safe place to work. Attorney at Law, and Activist Naushalya Rajapakse will touch on the current reality in SL related to GBVH.

The official launch of the WCIC website, supported by the USAID CATALYZE Sri Lanka Private Sector Development (PSD) activity is a part of the agenda.

As the afternoon unfolds, participants will have the privilege of taking part in a centred leadership facilitated by Mckinsey Malaysia Partner/Managing Partner Vidhya Ganesan with Suchita Prasad. This workshop, revolves around the proprietary ‘Centred Leadership Model.’ It emphasises self-awareness and choice, enabling leaders to tap into purpose and vision, shift habitual patterns into a learning stance, create collective relationships, step up with intention, and sustain transformational growth. WCIC Chairperson Anoji De Silva said: “The WCIC – Women Leadership Forum is a much looked forward to event by our entrepreneurs as well as the corporates that engage with us. It is a flagship event for the Chamber. We structure this event around the IWD theme applicable for the year and ensure the content relevant to the theme unfolds, keeping the audience completely engaged, so that they walk back into their respective workplace with a wealth of knowledge, to enhance personal and business performance. We are honoured to have Prof. Maithree Wickremesinghe deliver the Keynote address.”

The event is strengthened by Strategic Partnerships of USAID and Eva, and Gold Partners, Commercial Bank, Oxford College of Business and Sunshine Holdings, with Daily FT as the Print Media Partner. The WCIC annually hosts the Leadership Forum to unite women from diverse fields, providing them a platform to learn, share, network, and grow.

The forum is set to take place at Grand Ballroom, Galadari Hotel from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. with registrations commencing at 8:30 am. Tickets for this empowering experience are priced at Rs. 9500, and reservations can be made by contacting 076 684 8080. 

Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce (WCIC) is the National Chamber of Sri Lanka and the premier organisation supporting entrepreneurs and professional businesswomen. The membership is open to women who believe they can contribute to society as well as benefit from the many facilities the organisation creates. WCIC Women Leadership Forum is a flagship event of the Chamber, the other being WCIC Prathibhasheka, which aims to recognise and reward outstanding women entrepreneurs who make a contribution to the economy.