CA Sri Lanka underscores need for greater women representation across all sectors

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) President Lasantha Wickremasinghe emphasised upon the importance for greater female representation across the country’s public and private sectors. 

Delivering a speech to mark the international women’s day at the institute which was held under the theme ‘Pledge for Parity – Challenging Conscious and Unconscious Bias,’ Wickremasinghe said that there was no doubt that women were underrepresented at senior management level, and to ensure that this did not continue, companies needed to re-evaluate their strategies and give prominence to those who matter by absorbing them into more important positions.  

“Women in Sri Lanka form over 52% of the total population of nearly 21 million. However, out of the total economically active population of 8.5 million persons, only 33% are women. There is no doubt that women are under-represented across most sectors, and our Parliament is a very good example of this fact,” he said. 

Wickremasinghe emphasised upon the importance for the accounting fraternity to also encourage more women into this profession. “We already have some high profile female CA Sri Lanka members who give leadership to leading corporates in the country, but we have just over 30% female representation in our membership, and this is not sufficient, and we need to improve this number,” he said. 

However, on a more positive note, Wickremasinghe was hopeful of a larger female percentage of accountants’ in the future on grounds that the current 44,000 student population accounted for 60% of female students at the institute. “This is very encouraging,” he said. 

He also paid tribute to the female staff at the institute, which accounts to 46%, and serve at various levels including management and senior executive level. 

“I am very happy to note that the female staff of our institute are very committed and diligent, which undoubtedly makes them a very important pillar of our institute,” Wickremasinghe added. 

Meanwhile, the keynote speaker at the event, Hatton National Bank PLC Chief Human Resources Officer/AGM (HR) Chiranthi Cooray said that even though there was a national framework where both men and women were given equal opportunity in employment, legislation alone did not necessarily help in ensuring females were also treated equally in a workplace.  

Citing examples, Cooray recalled how at one instance a qualified high level management member of a company had shown bias towards a female manager just because she went on maternity leave. 

“Such a conversation does not necessarily promote inclusiveness in a workplace, because if you are going to have a preconceived mindset against a female worker, then it doesn’t promote an inclusive culture, and these are typical practical work place issues,” she said. 

Citing another example, Cooray said that at a public forum a well-known person had said that women could not handle tough situations. “This is gender-based stereotyping,” she said.

She went on to highlight that even though women maybe more subtle and collaborative, they may be more effective negotiators who bring in a different set of skills to the table. 

“Across cultures and countries, women are feeling less valued in terms of contribution made compared to their male counterparts, and to get out of this situation we need to talk seriously about pledging for parity, we need to reach out and seek different perspectives, and have open conversations and promote culture and dialogue,” Cooray advised. 

While emphasising that even though in a workplace the legal framework and diversity policy applied to all equally, she noted that despite at a national level equality had been highlighted, there were still obvious inequalities at a workplace. 

“Therefore, policy makers, the legal legislature, company leaders and business leaders should look at fixing these problems, so women will feel more secure and equal and also their value contributions are seen, heard and recognised,” Cooray added.