Economically Empowering Sri Lankan Women: One Strategy Does Not Fit All
When it comes to empowering Sri Lankan women in economic terms, there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. It is important to look at the differences in women’s needs and priorities from different settings, in order to introduce more effective development efforts. On International Women’s Day, this blog analyses the issues faced by rural and urban women and discusses ways in which these women can be empowered using a variety of strategies.
‘Lead like a Girl’: Empowering Sri Lanka’s Female Leadership
Female leadership is a widely discussed topic in today’s world – and many countries have now recognized the importance of having women in top positions. Sri Lanka, however, is sadly lagging behind in this regard. As such, this blog attempts to draw attention to some of the pertinent social and economic issues that discourage Sri Lankan women from realizing their true leadership potential.
Easy and Affordable Access to Finance: A Lifeline for Female-centric MSMEs in Sri Lanka
According to a study by IPS on ‘Women-owned and Led Micro, Small Medium Enterprises (WMSMEs) in Spice and Coir Sectors of Sri Lanka’, it was found that more than half of the women surveyed, ranked ‘financial concerns’ as the biggest barrier to operating and expanding their businesses. Using the experiences of one such female entrepreneur, this blog illustrates key strategies to encourage and accelerate the gainful participation of WMSMEs in Sri Lanka’s economy through easy and affordable access to finance.
Unpaid Care Work: The Overlooked Barrier in Women’s Economic Empowerment
Over 75% of the world’s total unpaid care work is done by women. However, this work is largely excluded from national income accounts and macro-economic statistics. This has led to significant gaps in economic policymaking, both in Sri Lanka and around the world. This blog argues that recognizing, reducing and redistributing unpaid care work is vital to fostering economic growth, and closing gender gaps in the labour market.
Removing Barriers to Trade to Promote Women’s Participation in Spice and Coir Value Chains in Sri Lanka
This article points out measures that can be taken in order to reduce or remove export barriers to spice and coir industries , which will help increase exports, and further women’s participation in the industries.
Barrie Hebb:This was interesting, the data across countries, regions and gender will be useful - also part of the GDP gap …