Women in Management, IFC and Government of Australia recognise inspiring women from Sri Lanka and Maldives in ‘Top50’ Professional and Career Women Awards 2021

The 'Top50' Professional and Career Women Awards 2021, hosted by Women in Management (WIM), in collaboration with Women in Work, a partnership between IFC and the government of Australia, recently honoured inspiring professional and career women in Sri Lanka and Maldives making a mark in their respective fields. 
The eleventh edition of the awards ceremony celebrated women representing a wide array of professions from industries including hospitality, banking and finance, logistics and supply chains, entrepreneurship, and media and law, among others, for excellence in either their chosen careers or for inspiring women in their community. The awards also lauded Sri Lankan corporates that have supported the growth and empowerment of women in the workplace. 

“The 2021 awards are a celebration of resilience, optimism, hard work and growth. As we step into a third year of a pandemic, this year’s winners remind us of the possibilities and opportunities that can exist in adversity,” said Dr. Sulochana Segera, Founder and Chairperson of Women in Management (WIM). “They also remind us of the extraordinary potential women in Sri Lanka and the Maldives are capable of, especially in challenging the status-quo for greater good. Women are often hesitant to take their spot in the limelight, but over the past decade, the Top50 Awards have created a platform helping them showcase their talents and achievements, and importantly to inspire others." 

During her speech at the event, Dr. Sulochana Segera noted the following, “the year 2022 has been named “Women’s Year” in Sri Lanka by Women in Management. Why does it matter for women to be recognized? Recently, I posted a statement on social media with the following text, ‘think you don’t deserve a job? Apply for it anyway. Think your article is not good enough? Publish it anyway. Even if you think they will not reply to your email, send it anyway. Don’t self-reject.’ Most of us, especially women, for the fear of the words - No and Failure, withhold our dreams, opinions, and opportunities without trying. We name this fear of failure as the - Glass Ceiling. The glass ceiling will not exist if we let go of the fear of rejection and failure! This year WIM received 984 nominations. Some were self-nominations, while others were nominated by corporates. Some were nominated by past winners and a few by the panel of Judges. This year was by far the most difficult year of judging. The judges had many debates and opinions before finalizing the winners. The ten judges had ten different views and, in the process, forgot the date of the awards. They were still deciding the winners even last week! 

I also fail to understand why women have so many photos online or on our phones, yet find it so difficult to send a professional picture with the nomination. Likewise, we hardly understand the difference between a CV and a professional profile. I urge the PR professionals and corporate communication Heads to take time to communicate the importance of a professional profile and a professional photograph to your female leaders. On the contrary, if you were to search a man’s profile online you will not find selfies or group pictures, but rather a professional picture attired in a suit. That is the difference between gender branding.  

One of the important things I made note of during the judging process was that sometimes your referees are not suitable to be on your profile. We believe that women are not supportive of other women. I believe the notion is a myth created by men for women to believe, because 99% of the referees were men, and trust me most of those men didn’t give good references when we call them. 

One of the best decisions the judges made this year, was to pick a winner based on her achievements and not to depend solely on the words of a referee. This stance proved to be one of the best decisions. As a result, we have selected the best of the best after nine rounds of judging. So, remember this award is given not just for your position, fame or, your corporate brand, it is given in recognition of your achievements and for you to in turn inspire other women. 

When a woman is successful the primary question asked often, is (a) is she related or an acquaintance, (b) is she having an affair or in a relationship with someone of a higher profile or in a position of power, (c) she must be a social climber or a very manipulative person,  to deserve such recognition. However, when a man is successful, he is considered, (a) a smart, intelligent, tough guy who delivers results, (b) a clever networker, (c) a very charismatic individual. These perceptions are described as gender stereotyping that still exists in not just the corporate world but also society at large. Women will always be gossiped about negatively and their success is rarely appreciated or applauded. 

Who can change this perception? You and me. It must start from us. It must start today. Do not wait for others to do it or expect organizations like WIM to do it. This change must start from within and it must start now. Stand up for your values, deliver results and stop complaining about being a woman. We need to work as a team, women and men both together if are to truly succeed. We need men and men need us.

We live in a country with abundant blessings, yet we are a country that constantly complains about everything. Yes, we have an economic crisis and that’s a truth we must all acknowledge, but the question is, is it a politically-created crisis, a global crisis, or a crisis created by us; the voters, and the citizens? We are all are responsible for this current crisis. We never took accountability and responsibility towards the country. Has the Government failed? No, it’s us as citizens who have failed. We continue to vote blindly based on political alliances or personal gains.

We don’t truly sit and think before we vote. We keep electing the same incompetent leaders over and over again. 
Ask yourselves this question, do you think any religious establishment such as a Temple, Kovil, Mosque or Church teaches religion? No! Today, religious places of worship are utilized for political purposes and priests instead of teaching the religion, uses their authority to criticize women, alter their dress code, control motherhood and marriage, and even control women who opt to work. Ninety percent of Asian attitudes and mindsets are shaped by religious beliefs, values, and preaching. We as citizens want gender equality, women in leadership, women in politics, politicians with values, safety for children, and more, hence the first place to make all of this possible is not the Parliament, but our religious headquarters and its leaders. Remember, 225 individuals cannot make things right, and that’s because they all look at things the same way. They all have lost credibility and lost sight of the need for accountability. They think they are answerable only to the media. The media in turn broadcasts and publishes what they think the citizens should hear, watch and read. I am sorry to say that we do not have a strong opposition either. An opposition should go beyond complaining and protesting, and instead, they should come up with a strategy to help ease the burden and build the trust of the common man. What is happening instead is they host multiple media conferences daily to highlight issues and agitate the public, but they too don’t have any solutions for those issues.  

Politicians have proven that simply being educated does not automatically translate into great leadership. Education without values, wisdom, and common sense will inevitably, lead to crisis. Us as voters, vote quite selfishly, solely based on what we can gain. Corporate’s vote based on their personal alliances; which licenses they can acquire, which tender they can win, how can their business benefit and so on. They chose to fund and promote politicians and political parties that will most suit their personal agendas. We cannot solely blame the politicians; we are all at fault!  Sri Lanka is not progressing because of us, her citizens, and our own selfish objectives and agendas! Until, we change this mindset and until we do what’s actually good for the country, keeping aside all personal agendas, we will never truly succeed as a nation.”

In closing her speech at the event, Dr. Sulochana Segera, also stated the following, “when we succeed, we tend to isolate ourselves and only associate with people we know, or people within our own social circles, top management or certain standards and limitations we self-impose. This is one of the main reasons most women who are climbing the corporate ladder do not get many opportunities to network with some of the top female leaders in the country. Some will attend an event as a speaker but will not stay to speak to the audience after her speech has ended. I urge you, do not accept invitations if you are unable to speak to the participants after the event, and inspire them. Do not feel that this is beneath your status to associate someone below you. Your success depends on how you mentor and inspire another successor.”

With over 470 past award winners, the ‘Top50’ Professional and Career Women Awards aim to showcase the significant role women play as leaders, employees, entrepreneurs, and stakeholders in contributing to sustainable and inclusive economic growth in the country. Marking IFC’s seventh consecutive year in co-hosting the event, Victor Antonypillai, Acting Country Manager for IFC Sri Lanka and Maldives said, that “to ensure a resilient recovery, the path should be gender inclusive, women should be at the heart of the path to recovery. We need to ‘build forward fairer’ for economies and societies to build back better.” Supported through the IFC-DFAT Women in Work program, this year’s Top50 Awards aims to showcase the resilient leadership Sri Lankan women have shown, amid a pandemic. 

Also, speaking at the event, David Holly, Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and Maldives remarked that, “over the years, the ‘Top50’ Awards have shown the power of women in business inspiring many others in leadership and in society more generally. The 2022 Awards are a tribute to the resilience of Sri Lankan women, particularly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking of the award winners, Nadija Tambiah, Head of Legal, Secretarial and Corporate Social Responsibility at John Keells Holdings and Chair of 2021 Judging Panel, said that the “quality of the women who were nominated or who applied this year was impressive. We were forced not only to look at the accomplishments of these women in their chosen vocations but also what impact they have had in the industry and what they have done for women in their organisations.” This year’s Judging Panel, chaired by Nadija Tambiah, included Jayanthi Dharmasena, Managing Director of Hayleys Agriculture Holdings Ltd; Kishu Gomes, Group MD/CEO of Dreamron Group of Companies; Nisthar Cassim, Founding Editor and CEO of Daily FT; Rohantha Athukorala, CEO of Clootrack Sri Lanka, Maldives and Pakistan; Sandra De Zoysa, Group Chief Customer Officer at Dialog Axiata PLC; Sandya Salgado, Strategic Marketing Professional; Santosh Menon, CEO of KL.LK; Amanda Jewell, Acting Australian High Commissioner for Sri Lanka; and Sarah Twigg, Program Manager for Women in Work at IFC.