October 31, 2023 | Colombo, Sri Lanka
A team of local PEP researchers held a national policy conference to share their findings on the barriers that women face in accessing decent work.
First panel discussion featuring (left to right) Mr Neelakanth Wanninayake (CEO of the Industrial Services Bureau, North Western Province), Ms Gayani de Alwis (First Vice Chairperson Women's Chamber of Industry and Commerce), Dr Nisha Arunatilake (Research Team Leader), Ms Aarthy Arunasalam (Program Manager - Gender and Economics Inclusion, IFC Sri Lanka)
October 31, 2022 – A team of local PEP researchers held a national policy conference to share their findings on the barriers that are preventing Sri Lankan women from accessing decent work.
Recognising the critical role of decent work in advancing gender equity and economic growth, the research team facilitated a discussion with policymakers and stakeholders on how to help women overcome these barriers.
The team brought together more than 50 participants from the spheres of policymaking, civil society, the private sector, NGOs and international development, academia and the media. The key policy stakeholders in attendance included representatives from the Ministries of Labour and Foreign Employment, of Finance, of Industries, and of Agriculture and Plantation Industries, from the Departments of Labour and of National Planning, and from the Child Protection Authority.
Team member Dr. Lakmini Fernando presented the findings and recommendations from the team’s PEP project on Addressing context-specific barriers to female labour force participation in decent work in Sri Lanka.
She explained how higher levels of education are associated with better working conditions while participation in agricultural employment reduces the likelihood of decent work. Dr. Fernando also highlighted various ways in which gender norms and traditional gender roles hinder women’s access to decent work. In particular, she spoke about women being excluded from senior positions in decision-making bodies, the lack of daycare facilities, and the risks women face when using public transport.
Based on the team’s analysis, Dr. Fernando identified areas for government action: improving women’s access to education, investing in sectors that create good-quality jobs, and providing good-quality infrastructure (such as childcare facilities and safe public transport). The latter two action areas were explored further during two panel discussions: Creating decent jobs for women—moderated by the team leader, Dr. Nisha Arunatilake—and Women’s access to decent work and childcare, moderated by Prof. Dileni Gunewardena. Dr. Arunatilake and Prof. Gunewardena are also PEP Research Fellows and members of PEP’s Gender Committee.
During the first discussion, Ms. Aarthy Arunasalam, the Program Manager for Gender and Economic Inclusion at the International Finance Corporation of Sri Lanka, spoke on the importance of helping women to access decent work. She highlighted how the employment gender gap is linked to a significant loss in GDP for the country.
Mr. Neelakanth Wanninayake, CEO of the Industrial Services Bureau, agreed that studying the contextual barriers to women’s access to decent work is of national significance. He further suggested that future policy research should focus on the sub-national levels to address regional development challenges.
Furthermore, Ms. Arunasalam and Mr. Wanninayake officially expressed interest in their organisations collaborating with the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, where the research team are based.
Speaking as a panellist during the second discussion, the Director of Planning and Information at the Child Protection Authority (CPA) expressed her interest in the team’s findings and stated that Sri Lanka’s National Daycare Policy will be released at the end of 2023. Given the CPA’s direct role in formulating the Daycare Policy, the research team is hopeful that their findings will inform future modifications to the policy.
The discussion reaffirmed the need for policy to redress gender norms that place caregiving responsibilities predominantly on women. All the experts agreed that provisions for paternal leave would be important for shifting child-rearing responsibilities from the mother to both parents.
Floor discussions followed the panel discussions. During these, the Executive Director for International Women’s Rights Action Watch-Asia Pacific underlined the importance of transforming precarious jobs into decent jobs, alongside creating decent jobs.
Six journalists attended the event and reports were featured in various publications, including the newspapers Daily News, The Sunday Times and The Island. News First also broadcast part of the conference during their Prime Time English News programme on the 1st of November. These features underline the public interest in the subject of decent work for women and the team’s findings.
The research team organized the event with financial and advisory support from PEP. They hosted it at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) of Sri Lanka, where they are based.
