Friday Nov 15, 2024
Friday Nov 15, 2024
Thursday, 16 March 2017 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Ladies VIP Night themed ‘The Role Model – The Strength of a Woman’ in partnership with HSBC truly celebrated the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of leading women in Sri Lanka through an evening of empowerment, inspiration, fun and glamour.
The event which was held on 7 March at the Galle Face Hotel to mark International Women’s Week, recognised 23 women role models from various fields including two female role models from HSBC. They each got to share their most inspiring real life stories, which made it one a one of a kind event.
Stepping away from the usual stereotype style, the Ladies VIP night also brought to life the global theme of International Women’s Week ‘be bold for change’, by highlighting gender parity through an entertaining and lively fashion show put on by men, which was undoubtedly the highlight of the evening.
Men who volunteered as male models were well-respected businessmen from different industries who showed their support for women by walking the ramp.
The beauty of the event was that it gave the audience an opportunity to listen to the personal life stories of women entrepreneurs who have made a significant impact in society, beating all odds and overcoming many challenges to rise above and make a difference in their respective fields.
Selected role models namely Elizabeth Sophie Balsa, Radhika Coomeraswamy, Shobana Cooke, Anusha David, Chandi Dharmaratne, Ramani Fernando, Jaquie Mei, Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, Sandy Jayasuriya, Neela Marikkar, Dr. Nilanthi Fernando, Tania Polonnowita, Sarrah Sammoon, Heidy Rampinelli, Catherine Obrenovic, Rosy Senanayake, Dr. Sulochana Segera, Linda Speldewinde, Jayanthi Kuru-Uthumpala, Anoma Wijewardene, Sumi Moonesinghe, Dilini Fernando and Nilanthi Fernando of HSBC revealed very insightful and thought provoking experiences that would not have been shared anywhere else; it was encouraging and truly inspiring.
HSBC, an equal opportunity employer who sponsored the event for the first time, felt it was a fitting tribute to women from all walks of life. HSBC who employs over 200,000 staff globally is a strong advocate of diversity and inclusion, which sits at the heart of the banks purpose and corporate culture.
Throughout the bank’s 125 years of operation in Sri Lanka, HSBC has created equal opportunities for both women and men in the workplace and women now make up 45% of its local workforce. HSBC’s global workforce is made up of 52% of women.
One of the key things that came out strong was the flexible work policies adopted by HSBC across the globe, whereby women can continue to pursue their career, following motherhood. Also, HSBC’s maternity policy offers up to 90 working days of paid leave and three working days of paternity leave to employees who are in full time employment, which employees value as a great benefit.
Mark Prothero, CEO of HSBC Sri Lanka and the Maldives, who was called up onstage to propose a toast in honour of all the role models, said: “Tonight, all of us have been privileged to listen to some incredible stories, stories about how our role models have contributed immensely to the economy, culture and society at large in Sri Lanka as women leaders. I am delighted to propose a toast tonight to celebrate the magnificent feats of all the role models and all the women in our country that truly make Sri Lanka stand out from the rest in many facets.”
He also spoke of HSBC’s aspirations towards gender diversity saying, “At a Group level, HSBC continues to have an aspirational Diversity target and we are tracking to achieve at least 30% female representation in our leadership and currently we are not far away at 25%. We are determined to achieve this gender balance by incorporating inclusive practices of hiring, promotions and talent identification. The stories from our very own role models featured today bear testament to this.”
The Ladies VIP night was well organised with attention given to every detail of the programme line up. Something that was not expected though, was the unbelievable talent of 11-year-old Maya Aluvihare who sang ‘It’s a man’s world’ originally sung by James Brown, which stunned the audience.
The Ladies VIP night was organised by Latika Alok, an entrepreneur herself who specialises in event planning and conceptualises her own events with a vision to make it something exciting and different.
Speaking of the vision for Ladies VIP night, she commented: “We hope to continue our partnership with HSBC to celebrate International Women’s Week and mark it as an annual event for women to unite, to empower, inspire and help make changes for a better future.”
The Galle Face Hotel was the perfect venue and hospitality partner for the event. Aside from the delectable ‘sit down’ dinner that was served, guests were also treated to a variety of cocktails and finger food in the foyer as they prepared to make their way into the grand ballroom where the event was held.
Galle Face Hotel GM Deni A. Dukic said: “It was our distinct pleasure to be a part of the celebrations for International Women’s Day 2017 in partnership with Ladies VIP Night. I would like to congratulate Latika Alok and her team for putting together a high calibre event, creating a memorable evening for all present whilst shedding light on such a great cause. We look forward to hosting similar such events in the upcoming future.”
Ladies VIP Night was not only an event to provide opportunities to socialise and have fun, but also to contribute towards building a stronger community. A proportion of the ticket money plus all monies raised from a luxury lucky dip treasure chest will be donated to support The Community Concern, a charity that focuses on empowering women and children through various projects.
Pix by Upul Abayasekara
