Sampath Bank partners Women Directors Forum to enliven ‘Women on Boards’ initiative

Sampath Bank Managing Director Nanda Fernando with Sri Lanka Institute of Directors Senior Vice Chairperson Aroshi Nanayakkara, following the signing of the agreement. Sampath Bank Senior Deputy General Manager/Group Marketing, Deposit Mobilisation and Digitalisation Tharaka Ranwala and Sri Lanka Institute of Directors Chief Executive Officer Radika Obeysekera are also present

Sampath Bank is proud to be named one of the Annual Corporate Partners sponsoring the ‘Women on Boards’ training program launched by the Women Directors Forum (WDF) of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID). 

The initiative, announced to coincide with this year’s International Women’s Day, will include the compilation of an e-Directory of Board and Board-Ready Women. It is a key element of the WDF’s ambitious goal of creating a female leadership pipeline.

The Women on Boards training program is in the process of identifying and assembling a deep talent pool of Sri Lankan working women with professional backgrounds, management experience, people skills and leadership potential. These are prime candidates for board membership, managers who are ready for bigger things. The plan is to groom these talented individuals and fast-track them for placement on the boards of public and private corporate entities. 

Formed in 2019, Women’s Diversity Forum spearheaded SLID’s agenda to foster diversity on boards. Among other accomplishments, this resulted in progressive gender quotas being included in the budget presented by the Minister of Finance in March 2019. It mandated a minimum of 20 percent female membership on boards by the end 2024, and encouraged a voluntary target of 30 percent. The WDF also partnered with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on its first Women on Boards and Leadership Training Program. 

“Women are somewhat an underrepresented gender on corporate boards, so we at Sampath Bank are glad to be part of this movement to radically change the status quo,” said Sampath Bank PLC Managing Director Nanda Fernando. “Case studies done at Harvard Business School and other prestigious management training institutions have proved over and over again that women leaders bring diverse and different thinking to the board table. Women are seen to be more collaborative and are great team players. Women tend to be non-confrontational and are thus very effective at conflict-resolution and problem-solving. They are also seen as wonderful mentors. Sampath Bank welcomes the promotion of female leaders who are ready to hit the ground running.”

“The WDF’s plan to redress the imbalance at the board table is both timely and noteworthy. There’s a vast pool of underutilised talent that’s going to waste – qualified, motivated women who are no strangers to hard work. Tapping into this rich resource is long overdue, and should have significant benefits for corporate bottom lines. The inclusion of more female directors means that Sri Lankan boardrooms will become much more representative of our society at large. We at Sampath Bank believe this is a very welcome development,” he added.