Most Sri Lankan women travelling in public transport sexually harassed-report

Ninety per cent of women travelling in public transport are sexually harassed and this appears to be a deterrent for women accepting jobs that involves long distance travel, according to a World Bank Report on “Getting to Work: Unlocking Women’s Potential in Sri Lanka’s Labour Force” 

This report was discussed at a forum held at Sethsiripaya, Battaramulla on Friday. It was compiled by Jennifer L Solotaroff, Senior Social Development Specialist; George Joseph, Senior Economist and Anne T Kuriakose, Senior Social Development Specialist from the World Bank.

Explaining the report, Ms. Solotaroof said that women are still under-represented in technical and vocational education and training and apprenticeships despite gender parity in formal education. She said that men far outpace women in securing high-skills jobs, even with same education levels and is worst since the end of the conflict.  

Overall, she said, young women in the study sample also receive less “moral support” and career guidance from information providers such as parents, compared to young men. 

The research findings in the report, she said indicated that women face discrimination and gender bias and do not have same job opportunities as men with same education and other qualifications. There is gender-based discrimination in the job market despite similar levels of education as employer preference for hiring men over women pervasive and is more pronounced at managerial and skilled levels.

She said that in Sri Lanka there is high unemployment specially women younger than 30 years in labour force participation and though shrinking, wage disparities between the sexes persist and poverty is not the sole driver of women’s labour market participation in Sri Lanka while the poorest women may be bearing the brunt of worsening labour market outcomes. 

Marriage becomes a reason for women to leave the workforce, she said, adding that they normally stay home to care for children and there is a general disbelief and low acceptability of professional childcare, according to the report. Sexual harassment in the workplace is also a serious problem and a major deterrent to women taking up employment.

The report contains recommendations to tackle the problems and issues that emerged during the survey.
A panel discussion followed the presentation of the report with the involvement of Dr. Dileni Gunewardena, Professor, University of Perazdeniya; Chiranthi Cooray, Chief Human Resources Officer, Hatton National Bank and Chairperson, Prime Minister’s Task Force for the FLFP Strategy and Carmen Niethammer, Progrmme Manager, Women in Work, International Finance Corporation and was moderated by Kamani Jinadasa. 

Chandrani Senaratne, Secretary, Ministry of Wome and Child Affairs and Valerie Layrol, Senior Operations Officer, World Bank also spoke. (Quintus)