The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) recently marked International Women’s day by once again advocating for gender equality and the greater participation of women in the economy at-large while also implementing an initiative to recognize and empower female employees of the exchange.
CSE’s female workforce comprise of 43% of the company’s entire staff strength, a percentage which extends even amongst the Senior Management of the organization. Female employees have actively contributed to the growth of the Sri Lankan stock market, at all levels over the past 35 years.
In-line with international Women’s Day 2021, the Human Resources Department of the Exchange organized a number of initiatives including presenting tokens of appreciation to female employees, a women empowerment driven internal communications campaign as well as an awareness drive on Breast Cancer. CSE as an employer continues to promote and maintain gender equality through their HR initiatives with the ultimate focus being on the wellbeing of the employees.
In terms of external advocacy this International Women’s day, CSE once again joined the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group and other local and international partners to Ring the Bell for Gender Equality for the 6th consecutive year in 2021. The annual global event highlights how women’s participation in the economy can spur sustainable private sector development. The keynote speaker at this year’s event was Ms. Kasthuri Chellarajah Wilson, the Group CEO of Hemas PLC and the first female Group CEO of a public quoted conglomerate in Sri Lanka.
Commenting on the event Ms. Anoja Senanayake Head of Human Resources at CSE added “It is important that we as employers and responsible corporates advocate towards the improvement of Gender Equality in our society and workplaces. At CSE we have always led by the belief that the active participation of women in all levels of businesses is pivotal to the growth of an organization and we remain committed to creating such an environment for women to meet their potential and capitalize on their leadership skills.”