SLID Chief says sound biz case emerging for more competent women to get on Boards

Wednesday, 9 March 2022 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Sri Lanka Institute of Directors joined the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Colombo Stock Exchange in ringing the bell for gender equality at the Colombo Stock Exchange on Monday to

SLID Chairman Faizal Salieh

mark International Women’s Day.

SLID Chairman Faizal Salieh speaking at the event said: “Today the bell tolls for all women in the world of work, business and society. Women do matter and for sure they are getting better and better in every sphere of activity. The bell also tolls for all those men who continue to champion the progression of women into higher executive management and into the Boards of companies. The bell is also a grim reminder to those men who are yet to step out of their traditional mindset and reach out to welcome more women as equal colleagues in the boardroom.”

Salieh said that just as there is a sound business case for good corporate governance, there’s also a sound business case emerging for more competent women to get on Boards. “The men in our boardrooms should take heed of this business case and embrace the female value proposition.”

He said that SLID stood firmly committed to gender equality and inclusivity as an integral part of its larger and broader Board Diversity Agenda and is a focal point on its advocacy agenda. “Our drive for this is beyond any semblance of tokenism. Among the many forums we’ve created for the betterment of directors, our Women Directors Forum is dedicated to grooming and building capacity for women.”

SLID works closely with the IFC, Australian High Commission, SEC, CSE and other like-minded institutions in order to increase female participation in business and company boards. “We shall do everything possible to enable companies to build and facilitate this process,” he said. “In this journey our companies need to facilitate and grow the supply side of competent women for higher management roles and break the traditional mind blocks and any embedded or unconscious biases that may exist in their processes when nominating and admitting directors to company boards.”

The SLID Chairman urged Corporate Sri Lanka to respond to the call of the bell and come together to build better boards with better women.