IFC, CSE ring the Bell for Gender Equality

CSE CRO Renuka Wijayawardhane, CEO Rajeeva Bandaranaike, MAS Holdings/UNGC SL Board Member Dinali Peiris, IFC Program Manager Women in Work SL Sarah Twigg, Australian Deputy High Commissioner Lalitha Kapur, NSB former Director and Audit Committee Chairperson Manohari Abeysekera, JKH President Legal, Secretarial and CSR and SLID Council Member Nadija Tambiah, CSE Chairman Dilshan Wirasekara, SEC DG Chinthaka Mendis and CSE CIO Chandrakanth Jayasinghe

• Champion 13 Top Sri Lankan companies pledging to increase women’s corporate leadership

Thirteen of the leading companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) have pledged their support to increase women’s representation at both their management and board levels.

The move comes as IFC partnered with the CSE for the eighth consecutive year for the ‘Ring the Bell for Gender Equality,’ celebrated in line with International Women’s Day. 



As part of IFC’s moves to promote gender equality, the 13 companies have signed onto a commitment to boost female representation at the board level and in management to a minimum of 20% by 2025.

“If we look at the progress that the exchanges have made, specifically with regard to listed companies, we relatively had a success. If we look at the numbers way back in 2018, we had 8% of women representation in our boards and that has increased to 10% today. We have global statistics that show women representing management in organisations even at board level have contributed to every aspect of better results, even in terms of financial results,” said CSE Chairman Dilshan Wirasekera.

“The event is used as a ‘call to action’ for businesses to advance women’s empowerment and gender equality. We invite all the 20 S&P companies to pledge their commitment towards increasing female representation at the board level and in management to a minimum of 20% by 2025.”

The Global Gender Gap Report of 2022 indicates the share of women hired into leadership roles has seen a steady increase, from over 33% in 2016 to nearly 37% in 2022. However, amid multiple global crises, sparked initially by the COVID-19 pandemic, there are concerns that women’s workforce participation has dropped, risking further backsliding on gender parity.

IFC’s commitment to the initiative is part of its strong focus on gender equality, which includes leveraging relationships with financial institutions to expand access to finance for female entrepreneurs and increase the number of women in leadership roles.

 “Better gender balance in business leadership is inextricably linked with achieving sustainable, inclusive growth. We know that making even small inroads in closing the gender gap can yield clear and positive results for businesses especially in financial performance and better decision-making processes,” said IFC Women in Work Program Manager Sarah Twigg.

“The commitment of the top 13 Sri Lankan companies is a significant step towards accelerating the progress we have made so far. This is also the time that Sri Lanka needs more women corporate and business leaders to help ensure an inclusive and resilient recovery in the country.”

The companies that signed up for the pledge are CIC Holdings PLC, Commercial Bank of Ceylon (CBC), Expolanka Holdings PLC, Hayleys PLC, John Keells Holdings PLC, Lanka IOC PLC, LOLC Holdings PLC, Royal Ceramics Lanka PLC, Sampath Bank PLC, Softlogic Life, Teejay Lanka PLC, Valibel Finance PLC, Watawala Plantations PLC.

The research shows accelerating the pace of gender parity could generate financial returns in the private sector, leading to significant economic, environmental, social, and governance gains in emerging markets.

In Sri Lanka, research by IFC’s Women on Boards program has also highlighted the clear correlation between increased board diversity and financial performance, with positive trends being reported in line with indicators such as return on total assets and price-to-earnings ratio. IFC’s work on the ‘Women on Boards’ program in Sri Lanka is supported by the Government of Australia under the IFC-DFAT Women in Work program.

“The global ‘Ring the Bell’ event helps raise awareness of the essential contribution women make to our economies – and reinforces the undeniable business case for women’s labour force participation. As Sri Lanka navigates significant economic challenges, it is critical now more than ever, that we find new ways to advance gender equality,” said Australian Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and Maldives Lalita Kapur.

Sharing thoughts on the initiative, MAS Holdings Group Human Resources Director and UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka Board Member Dinali Peiris said: “As we mark the 8th consecutive year of this initiative with the IFC and the CSE, to ring the bell for gender equality, we are reminded of how greater participation of women in the economy can spur sustainable and inclusive growth, shaping a more equal future. The Global Gender Gap Report in 2022 reports that the gender gap has been closed by 68.1% in 2022, and in this trajectory, it would take us 132 years to close the economic gender gap.”

Aligning with the International Women’s Day 2023 theme, ‘DigitAll: Innovation for Gender Equality,’ Peiris also said: “According to statistics, 37% of women do not use the internet, and although women account for nearly half the world’s population, 259 million fewer women have access to the internet.

“So, if women do not have access to the internet and do not feel safe using the internet, they are unable to develop the necessary skills required to engage and explore digital spaces and they lose out on opportunities to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).”

“Realising we had a role to change this, MAS launched the ‘Girls in STEM’ initiative. With this program, our aim is to provide access to schoolgirls to explore diverse STEM related fields that could lead to exciting opportunities and potential careers,” said Peiris adding “Joining the UN Global Compact Network has truly supported us, at MAS, to be the change we want to see, and I humbly urge all companies to join this movement and engage in the ‘strength of the collective.’”

JKH President - Legal, Secretarial and CSR and SLID Council Member Nadija Tambiah said: “As Sri Lanka starts this vital journey of rebuilding our economy, we desperately need the leadership, the partnership and productivity of the women of this nation.  Sri Lanka could add $ 20 billion to its GDP by improving gender equality metrics.  All of us hold ourselves and each other accountable to delivering women into the workplace.”

“SLID through the Women Directors Forum is part of this effort and has initiated a programme which includes training, sponsorship and mentorship of potential women leaders.  They have also launched a directory of women capable of taking board seats,” Thambiah said. She called on all the women of Sri Lanka to play their fullest part and bring their best contribution in this crisis so that Sri Lanka can reach its full potential.

Delivering the keynote speech, NDB’s Former Independent Non-Executive Director/Chairperson-Audit Committee Manohari Abeysekera indicated that, it is necessary to tap the enormous potential of educated women in Sri Lanka by creating the conducive environment for women to work.

Sri Lankan corporates would need to encourage more female participation in the Boards, increasing the current 9.5% female participation to at least 20-30% within the next few years encouraging diversity, empathy in Board decision making. In this regard, creating crèches, flexi work times, work from home, co-parenting leave are key factors allowing females to go up in their career ladder.

Abeyesekera also shared advice on creating a brand outside the corporate designations, networking, volunteering and also being able to negotiate your remuneration with your employers to determine your market worth etc., which are useful in making a mark in your corporate career. She also said that we need to encourage SME female entrepreneurs to create value and export products and services to generate foreign exchange to the country.

This year, nearly 120 exchanges around the globe took part in events worldwide. The 2023 ‘Ring the Bell for Gender Equality’ event in Sri Lanka marks a partnership between CSE, IFC, Government of Australia, Sri Lanka Institute of Directors, The World Federation of Exchanges, Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, UN Global Compact, UN Women, and Women in ETFs.