Monday Nov 25, 2024
Monday Nov 25, 2024
Thursday, 16 October 2014 00:38 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Held on 25 September at the Colombo Hilton, the session was opened by Head of Service Delivery, HSBC Securities Services Operations, Group Service Centre (GSC) Colombo, Ghanshyam Das Khandelwal, who presented a comprehensive review of women in the workforce and the case of female leadership in Sri Lanka, the region and the world, saying: “This symposium aims to facilitate change in the broader framework supporting working women, explore leadership from a local, national and international perspective and create an environment to promote female leadership in Sri Lanka.”
Eunice L.C.Y. Chan together with Tea Board Chairperson and Presidential Adviser Janaki Kuruppu, Director Women Go Beyond/Women’s Advocacy at MAS Capital Ltd., Shanaaz Preena and Chairperson Unilever Sri Lanka Ltd., Shazia Syed spoke about challenges related to ‘Women in Leadership’ during the first panel discussion, which was moderated by Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies Executive Director Imran Furkhan.
Women have been significantly outnumbered by men in leadership positions within the corporate sector. Aimed at breaking this position and inspiring women to take the journey of leadership, while achieving work-life balance, the symposium had three panel discussions to discuss this further.
Adding to this HSBC Asia-Pacific Regional Head of Service Delivery Eunice L.C.Y. Chan said during her keynote speech: “Workforce diversity is essential to the growth and long-term success of every business. We believe it’s important for the business community to advocate real and sustainable change.”
“In Sri Lankan culture, women are told not to aim high. Society demands a lot from women. Forty percent of women don’t return to work when they have children. We need to change this mindset. Women will have to remove this mental barrier around them,” Janaki Kuruppu added.
Shanaaz Preena spoke about the importance of female mentorship and sponsorship programs to create a strong female leadership pipeline in organisations.
Standard Chartered Bank Chief Executive Officer Anirvan Ghosh Dastidar, Carson Cumberbatch Head of Human Resources Bennett Patternott, Ghanshyam Das Khandelwal and Employers’ Federation of Ceylon Director General Ravi Peiris spoke about “engaging men to achieve ‘balance’” during the second session, moderated by CIMA Middle East, South Asia and North Africa Regional Director Bradley Emerson.
“The ethos of organisations and flexibility play an important role in retaining women in the workforce. It’s all about creating the right working environment for women. There are more women in the IT/BPO sector,” said Ravi Peiris.
“The culture of the company, female leadership programs, flexible working hours, sabbatical and maternity leave policies also can make a significant difference. Creating great infrastructure for everyone at work irrespective of gender is important,” Anirvan Ghosh Dastidar said.
“A good atmosphere will retain women. A bad atmosphere will result in the loss of good female employees,” said Bennett Patternott.
Head of Service Delivery, HSBC, Hyderabad, India, Jackie English, Janaki Kuruppu, Vice President, Human Resources, HSBC, Colombo Lasantha Dasanayaka, Ravi Peiris, Shanaaz Preena and Hotel Management and Human Resources Specialist at Freelance, Sunil Dissanayake, discussed how the policy framework can be enhanced to support women in leadership during the final panel discussion.
“There is a talent shortage of females in senior roles. Individuals in senior positions should think more responsibly in filling those gaps. This has to be competence-based, and if we are looking at a 50:50 leadership mantra, we need to create a strong female leadership pipeline. A mindset change in the organisation is key,” said Sunil Dissanayake.
Lasantha Dasanayaka opined that organisation norms also play a big part in retaining female employees in the workforce and that it was important to first understand the female perspective.
“It’s a journey. It’s about giving the vision to the female employee. Succession planning, nine-box matrix, affirmative training and life-skill training could create more female leaders,” Jackie English expressed.
The panel was moderated by Commercial Bank of Ceylon former Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody. Overall, the symposium not only provided food for thought for corporate leaders but also allowed participants to share experiences, best practices and strategies for them to incorporate in their organisations.
