Gender and youth
Despite significant efforts to achieve gender equality, women are underrepresented in Sri Lanka’s political and public decision-making. Female workforce participation is approximately half of men’s and only 26 per cent of total female workers in the country are employed in the industrial sector. Yet, it is estimated that equal participation of men and women in the economy has the potential to add up to $20 billion to Sri Lanka’s GDP. The World Bank points to the deeply entrenched patriarchal societal norms of female gender roles as one of the primary challenges to having a more gender equal workforce in Sri Lanka.
To achieve the clean and sustainable energy future and economy the country needs, women and youth must be at the heart of every aspect of our work. It is also a historic opportunity to transform traditional gender roles and relations.
Placing women and youth at the heart
In practice, this means that every training we deliver, every policy we recommend or help draft, every cohort of entrepreneurs we mentor, every financial instrument we design and every conversation we hold will consider and address the specific needs and voices of women and young people. To guide this, in September 2022 we carried out a gender mainstreaming analysis. Read the executive summary.
The following action areas and targets were identified:
- Produce or collect sex-disaggregated human related data
- Encourage organizations to nominate women and young professionals for the capacity building sessions and adapt the training session (location, time etc.) to women’s needs. A minimum target of 40 per cent women participation will be pursued.
- Involve in project steering committees and technical working groups stakeholders specialized in promoting gender equality and youth empowerment
- Include and support women and young entrepreneurs owned SMEs enabling them to grow their businesses, gain visibility and become role models
- Ensure gender-diverse panels and overall participation when organizing conferences and events.
