High level debate on ‘Women’s contribution to economic growth and participation in politics’
Friday, 7 March 2014 04:10
-
- {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Norwegian Embassy in cooperation with the Association of War Affected Women is organising a high level debate marking International Women’s Day 2014 titled ‘Women’s contribution to economic growth and participation in politics’. It will be held on Monday 10 March from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Auditorium of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies, ‘The Lighthouse,’ No. 24, Horton Place, Colombo 7.
Sri Lanka was one of the first countries in South Asia to give women the right to vote and the first ever nation to have a woman head of state. In the post-independence period, Sri Lankan women made rapid progress in relation to health and education indicators. Yet, political participation and representation of women in political institutions have remained stagnant in the 60 years since Sri Lanka achieved independence.
Can Sri Lanka reach its full potential and ensure optimal economic progress, if women – who comprise half the society – remain out of the decision-making processes?
“Gender equality pays off,” says Norwegian Ambassador Grete Løchen. “Research shows that countries with more gender equality have better economic growth and that parliaments with more women enact more legislation on key social issues such as health, education, anti-discrimination and child support, which will benefit the society as a whole. But also more women in the private sector and on the steering boards have proven extremely profitable,” Ambassador Løchen says.
“Not making use of the entire population’s capacity and resources simply does not make sense. And we cannot afford to wait. Next year is the deadline for the MDGs. The proportion of women in parliaments is one of the indicators for the MDG 3 Gender Equality. This is something we will all be measured by, says Visaka Dharmadasa, Chairperson of the Association of War Affected Women.
The theme for this year’s international women’s day is ‘Equality for women is progress for all’.
Programme
3 to 3:05: Welcome Grete Løchen, Ambassador of Norway
3:05-3:10: Introduction by moderator Savithri Rodrigo, award winning journalist, and Benchmark and LMD Special Correspondent
3:15-4: Panel discussion with: Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning; UNP MP Rosy Senanayake; Prof. Emeritus Savithri Goonesekera; and Chairperson of the Grants Group Neela Marikkar.
4: Interventions
4:15: Questions from the audience
4:55: Vote of thanks, Visaka Dharmadasa, Association of War Affected Women
5: Questions from the media
