Opens free vehicle registration for women during the month of March
At a time when women’s voices are rising around the world, International Women’s Day was commemorated globally on 8th March through a rich diversity of initiatives, celebrating women’s achievements, opportunities and potential, while reflecting on this year’s theme of ‘Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030’.
On this occasion, Sri Lanka’s leading taxi hailing software provider, PickMe has announced the launch of ‘PickMe Sri Liya Abhinandana’, a unique initiative to felicitate women entrepreneurs across Sri Lanka who bolster the economy and strengthen families and communities around them.
Showcasing the importance of women entrepreneurs and the tremendous impact they bring to the society, ‘PickMe Sri Liya Abhinandana’ will encourage more Sri Lankan women to succeed as impactful entrepreneurs by offering free vehicle registration during the month of March.
“Female labour participation serves as a significant component of labour utilization in an economy and also acts as a signal of economic empowerment of women.” said Zulfer Jiffry, Chief Executive Officer at PickMe. It is my belief that women have always been a giant contributor to a country’s economy, without necessarily being part of the corporate workforce. They are by nature able to handle multiple tasks at hand while displaying passionate engagement and unfailing commitment to whatever occupies their time; whether it be running a house-hold, rearing children or making decisions in a boardroom. And in my experience a female worker is always a very valuable asset to any business or organization, irrespective of the nature of the field of work.”
“At PickMe, I’ve seen our female drivers display extraordinary skill in managing time and finances: Some of them being single mothers and engaged in multiple entrepreneurial ventures while also driving full time on our platform. I find them inspiring positive change in their communities, in business and in our country at large. That is why I believe that we ought to encourage and empower the female worker by assuring them an environment in which they can work without fear of being undermined, underappreciated and most importantly undervalued.”
“In such context, we are happy to announce the launch of ‘PickMe Sri Liya Abhinandana’ for every Sri Lankan woman who aspires to be an entrepreneur. This program – in honor of the International Women’s Day – will see the felicitation of our own female staff and our lady driver fleet while also opening our doors during the whole month of March for ladies who wish to take up the trade – to do so for free,” he commented further.
Since its inception, PickMe has seen more and more ladies take up the job of ferrying passengers, with the company’s current lady driver fleet totaling 30; driving everything from three wheelers to sedans.
The job usually attracts less of the female population due to concerns regarding their personal safety and dangers of the job. The security of the PickMe system eases these concerns, because the lady driver is equipped with the information of the passenger that will be getting into her vehicle and has the ability to be pro-active about dangers with the assurance of PickMe’s driver-support team behind her. This was hitherto unavailable to women who might have aspired to this profession, and with such measures in place, PickMe hopes to make a significant increase in their growing number of women drivers in the coming years.
“The taxi trade is one that can prove very attractive to a woman who more often than not will have her self employed in multiple duties both towards nurturing her kin and contributing to the house-hold income – In some cases even being the only one responsible for both. Driving a taxi helps her manage her time between her many responsibilities, while drawing a decent income off it. PickMe hopes to help society evolve from the notion of stigma attached to the job and enable both men and women to take it up with pride: As it is in reality a lucrative trade that not only helps uplift the living standards of those employed init but also contribute largely to the country’s economy in terms of transport and tourism.” said Portia Ratnayake, Vice President – Communications at PickMe.
“Being a woman born to a culture that often venerates the role of a woman, I think I would be voicing the feelings of all women in business when I say that working in an organization that carries this culture forward and in fact uplifts it, is truly an honour and a privilege. Therefore, it is with great enthusiasm that I invite women aspiring to put their skills to good use to join PickMe – where every tier of the organization has a female representation and where you will not be undervalued – be it as a member of the PickMe staff or an affiliate” she added.
As the software platform that hosts the largest organized taxi fleet in Sri Lanka, with over twelve thousand three-wheelers, mini cars, cars, vans and luxury sedans, PickMe currently services the transportation needs of over one million passengers based in Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Kandy regions. Adding to its portfolio of services, PickMe also provides corporate traveling solutions to businesses and organizations with the PickMe Business Portal, the benefits of which is currently enjoyed by over 150 corporates in the country.