Over 40 Sri Lankan businesses participated in the first in a series of online learning sessions by the “Together We Can” partnership – launched under the IFC-DFAT Women in Work programme. The partnership is aimed at promoting gender-smart policies among Sri Lankan businesses, with a particular focus on helping mitigate Covid-19 impacts. According to IFC research conducted among 15 leading Sri Lankan companies, female employees were twice as likely to report increased household or care responsibilities due to Covid-19. Covid-19 has shown us that family-friendly policies are not just ‘nice-to-haves’ but ‘must-haves’,” said IFC Acting Country Manager for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Victor Antonypillai. “FCCISL is excited to join IFC in launching ‘Together We Can’ to revitalise the gender balance in the private sector workforce,” said FCCISL President Shirley Jayawardena.

Source: The Nation July 14, 2021 19:52 UTC