WiLAT Sri Lanka Forum celebrates third anniversary

WiLAT ExCo cutting the third anniversary cake​ The third anniversary of Women in Logistics and Transport Sri Lanka (WiLAT) forum was held on 8 March on the 106th International Women’s Day at The Kingsbury. The theme for this year’s event was ‘pledge for parity’ which is in line with the UN’s mission to achieve gender parity by 2030.

WiLAT Chairperson Gayani de Alwis welcomed the audience with a quotation, from GA Anderson that ‘Feminism is not about making women stronger. Women are already stronger. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength’ and urged the men and women to join hands with WiLAT to make a pledge to create gender diversity in the logistics and transport sector.

Each year 8 March provides us with the annual occasion to reflect on the great strides that women have made, and continue to make, in the workplace and beyond. However, it is also an opportunity to reflect on the work still to be done if society’s true potential is ever to be fully realised and achieve parity, the Chairperson said.

Sri Lanka produced the first woman prime minister in 1960, elected the first executive president in 1994 and also formed the first Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry. With such a legacy it’s a puzzle as to why there is such abysmally low women representation in politics as well as in the world of work, she said. 

Although the Sri Lankan Government had the commitment to ensure gender equality and recognises women’s right since ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1981, women still experience discrimination in their career lives. While the state provides equal employment opportunities in the public sector employment, there is a wide discrepancy in the law and the reality.   

Women in Sri Lanka form approximately 51.7% of our population. However, out of the total economically active population, only 33.4% are women. Almost 70% of the labour force constitutes economically inactive women. As per the labour force survey of 2013, the highest percentage of women is in the service sector accounting for 39.5% of the labour force, while women in agriculture and industry account for 35.3% and 25.1%, respectively. Though statistics of women in management in Sri Lanka are not available, broad estimates would place the figure below 10% of the total cadre. In logistics sector too it’s the same story. This is the disparity we need to address she opined.

She said that the international women’s day theme for this year is highlighting that although women constitute half of the world population, they still are being deprived of their rightful place in the world of work and in the society. 

The most notable feature during the past one year she said was the recognition received globally for the activities initiated by WiLAT Sri Lanka and  the flagship ‘Ignite’ Mentoring program, WiLAT walk, Annual report are to name a few. WiLAT globally adopted the Sri Lanka’s mentoring program for roll out and appointed WiLAT Sri Lanka Chairperson to lead the initiative globally. 

She further said that WiLAT is growing rapidly and as of now there are 18 countries in the network across three continents and Sri Lanka as one of the five pioneering WiLAT communities in the world has made great strides locally and globally. She invited all women in the industry to partner with WiLAT and contribute to creating value to the logistics and transport sector.

Guest of Honour Romesh David, Past Chairman and International Vice President of Chartered Institute of Logistic and Transport Sri Lanka (CILT) in his address said that CILT with its mission to promote and encourage the art and science of Logistics and Transport, took a giant step forward on 21 March 2013 to encourage women representation in transport and logistics industry by launching the  Women in Logistics and Transport Sri Lanka (WiLAT) forum. 

The main objective of the forum is to create a platform to discuss issues connected with the low profile of women in the industry and to provide opportunities for their career advancement by empowering them to make the right choices in their careers and become leading professionals in the industry he said. He mentioned the importance of male supporters towards achieving gender parity by highlighting the UN initiative on ‘He for She’ and urged men to act as change agents and support this cause.

The keynote speaker ADB Social and Gender Development Specialist Nelun Gunasekera said that achieving gender equality requires the engagement of women and men, girls and boys and It is everyone’s responsibility. Quoting from UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, she said that women hold up more than half the sky and represent much of the world’s unrealised potential. They are the educators. They raise the children. They hold families together and increasingly drive economies. They are natural leaders. We need their full engagement in government, business and civil society.

The audience was entertained by a dance troupe, a spot quiz and a unique live puppet show performance in line with the theme by Power of Play crew depicting the issues that women face in the society. A beautifully crafted cupcake tower added colour to the third anniversary celebrations.  In addition to all this, WiLAT partnered with Earth hour Sri Lanka to raise their voice for climate action to promote sustainable life style and best practices in the industry they operate. WiLAT ended the celebrations with the announcement of  International women’s day five point pledge to take this message forward and to symbolise this occasion, a badge was pinned to each participant by calling out every one to do their part to ensure that the future for girls are bright, safe and rewarding. 

Help women and girls achieve their ambitions

Challenge conscious and unconscious bias

Call for gender balanced leadership

Value women and men’s contribution equally

Create an inclusive and flexible culture

WiLAT is the women’s forum of CILT. It is part of an ever expanding global network within CILT. The main objective of WiLAT is to promote and encourage the art and science of logistics and transport among women. Currently WiLAT is present in 18 countries with over 1800 members in the global network which is expanding rapidly. WiLAT membership is open to all women working in public and private sector and in academia in the areas of logistics, transport, supply chain and supporting functions in organisations. WiLAT Sri Lanka forum is expected to provide a platform for women engaged in the industry to maximise their true potential both professionally and personally. For more details on WiLAT, visit their web page - http://www.ciltsl.com/wilat/.

Pix by Lasantha Kumara