Shehani Liyanage

Q: What is your assessment of women’s engagement in conventional and non-conventional fields in Sri Lanka? And what should be done to encourage them to enter the business arena?

A: The scope of ‘conventional’ and ‘non-conventional’ is dependent on perceptions.

In terms of Sri Lanka’s population, 52 percent are females but they must work harder to be successful. For example, the appointment of the first female Deputy Inspector General was met with wide resistance from male colleagues.

Women’s representation in parliament is also low. The change in mindset needs to happen from schooldays and en masse. A handful of people feeling the need to empower women isn’t enough – we need policy makers to step in, and change and implement laws to ensure they’re empowered.

Students need to be exposed to diverse careers early, and not merely gravitate to being doctors, engineers, lawyers and so on. The mentality among students is that if they don’t succeed in conventional careers, they’ve failed – this should not be the case.

Personally, I was not aware of real career opportunities until later in life. I’m actually a biological science student from the University of Colombo who was exposed to a career fair that opened my eyes to other possibilities towards the end of the university period.

I was fortunate to have that experience, which changed my life. But I’m certain that many young women are in stagnant careers purely due to a lack of knowledge about what else is out there.

Q: Do you believe that women are being supported to maximise their potential?

A: In my view, the climate is better today; and these important issues such as the glass ceiling, gender balance and women’s empowerment are being debated and discussed at length. But we have a long way to go.

There are cases of women thriving in organisations with empowering policies but not nearly enough.

An important aspect of driving change is creating support systems in diverse areas to enable growth and offer the choice of a different narrative or vision for their future.

At Upfield, we are encouraged to take the bull by the horns and aim to contribute to a collective cause.

One such effort has been our mission to reach 14,000 families and offer women the opportunity to begin their entrepreneurial dreams. The Astra Home Baker programme offers a comprehensive training programme in all aspects of baking.

Q: And do Sri Lankan businesswomen have the capacity to go global?

A: Certainly – but first, we need to normalise women in leadership roles and share their success stories widely to inspire more females. Once they gain confidence, they can go global.

Many Sri Lankan women working with local multinationals have completed stints abroad with great success. Perhaps more women should strive for global roles and jobs without feeling the need to limit themselves to this country.

At Upfield, the culture nurtures empowerment and enables us to lead global initiatives to showcase local talent. This has given me the opportunity to pioneer brands in Sri Lanka as well as the Maldives, with consumer centric strategies that received many global accolades.

The company has also provided me with opportunities to lead many of its global brand initiatives.

Q: What measures are needed to address the loss of women employees in mid-career?

A: In the recent past, the cutting back of maternity leave and nursing hours was an unfortunate move, which served as a loss in the context of the rights of women and wellbeing of infants.

Organisations can have flexible hours, and maternal and paternity leave, daycare facilities and working from home (WFH) options – all these choices would help women balance work and family. More importantly, women should not feel obligated because of such measures as most conscientious companies offer them globally.

I believe that we should transform the perception of working women as something positive so that the next generation will also strive for this. As mothers, women can be powerful role models to fashion a new mindset for the next generation.

Shehani Liyanage
Marketing Manager
Sri Lanka/Maldives
Telephone 7844000
Email astraflora.consumercare@upfield.com
Website www.upfield.com