Top industry professionals, leaders, entrepreneurs and changemakers from around the country once again gathered together under one roof to celebrate the achievements of women in their respective fields, at the tenth edition of the Top 50 Professional & Career Women Awards Sri Lanka held on January 26 at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo.

Hosted by Women in Management (WIM), in collaboration with Women in Work (a partnership between IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the government of Australia — the awards saw inspirational business and career women honoured for the roles they have played in their industries, along with Sri Lankan corporates which have supported the growth and empowerment of women in the workplace.

In her opening speech, Founder/Chairperson of WIM Dr. Sulochana Segera highlighted the resilience and strength of women, particularly the innate ability to survive no matter the circumstances. She also urged her peers to redefine success, and prioritise humanity and happiness over all else. “Positions have a retirement age, but personalities do not.”

This year, special appreciation awards for those who helped combat the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 were given out to the Sri Lanka Police, Sri Lanka Army, Public Health Officers and Medical Practitioners for their contribution.

The top awards for the year was the clear highlight of the evening. Amongst the winners were Chamila Bandara, the Director/Chief Executive Officer of Mountain Hawk, the Express Licensee of Federal Express Corporation who was awarded the Career Role Model of the Year award.  Selyna Peiris, the Head of Business Development at ‘Selyn’ bagged the award for Emerging Business Leader of the Year, while the award for the Best Corporate Leader of the Year went to Shehara Jayawardena, the Managing Director at McLarens Group. Amongst some of the other winners for the evening were Shehara De Silva, who won the award for Woman in Boards, and Hiran Cooray, Chairman of Jetwing Symphony PLC who was awarded the Male Champion of Change.

As the night progressed, Professor Neelika Malavige of the University of Sri Jayawardhanapura and a visiting professor at the University of Oxford,  was honoured with the Inspirational Woman of the Year award (COVID-19 category) for her contribution in COVID-19 research.

The first female Group CEO of a conglomerate in Sri Lanka, Kasturi Chellaraja Wilson, of the Hemas Group,was honoured with the Trail Blazer award, while Attorney-at-law and founder of Velox Legal, Lihini Fernando, was also awarded the Inspirational Woman of the Year for her work in women in governance.

Amongst some of the winners  were women from across multiple sectors who were recognized for their contributions towards Sri Lanka’s socio-economic development. Soundarie David Rodrigo, Founding Director of Soul Sounds Academy Sri Lanka was recognized for Arts & Creative Industry category, Gillian Edwards, Senior Vice President Consumer Banking at DFCC Bank,  for banking industry, Bimsani Jasinghaarachchi, Deputy Inspector General of Police for Welfare at Sri Lanka Police for defence force and civil security, Nilanthi de Silva, Dean and Professor of Parasitology at University of Kelaniya for education and Chandrika Perera, Executive Director at Abans PLC for financial services.

Namini Wijedasa, Deputy Editor, Investigations of the Sunday Times, received the award for print media, while Indeewari Amuwatte, news anchor and broadcast journalist at TV Derana, was recognised for electronic media and Shanuki De Alwis of Shhh Talk Show for digital media.

Also receiving awards were Ayesha Jinasena, Director of Public Prosecutions at the Attorney General Office (legal) and Nishirani Lanka Jayasuriya-Dissanayake, Chairperson of Indira Cancer Trust for Best NGO, INGO or Association on Women Empowerment for the remarkable service in helping cancer patients in Sri Lanka.

In a special message broadcast at the event, IFC’s Vice President for Asia and Pacific, Alfonso Garcia Mora noted that “women must be central to the thinking and action to build a sustainable resilient future out of this crisis,”  while Deputy High Commissioner of Australia Amanga Jewell reaffirmed Australia’s commitment to the women of Sri Lanka encouraging them to “participate in the economy and build a sustainable future for their country, particularly in the time of COVID-19.”

 

Playing a pivotal role in the ‘petition in the shoe’

A haven in more ways than one

Letters to the Editor

Appreciations

Cooking up a tasty dish with food from growing up days in Galle Fort

Latest gastronomic experience at Cinnamon Grand

Tribute to the school that nurtured, moulded and shaped them

The principal who drove a convertible and dissected animals