The World Bank’s research findings as captured in ‘Getting to work: unlocking women’s potential in Sri Lanka’s Labour Force’ finds that despite steady economic growth, the number of women participating in Sri Lanka’s workforce has declined to 36 percent in 2016 from 41 percent in 2010.
Sri Lankan women, especially younger ones do not sufficiently acquire marketable skills, face higher unemployment rates and can expect to receive lower wages than men, Valerie Layrol, Operations Advisor World Bank Sri Lanka and the Maldives said.
Once women are at work, increasing the availability of high quality child care services, improving access to part time work and maternity leave and addressing constraints on women’s mobility through safe transportation and telecommuting are essential to helping them remain in the workforce, she told a roundtable discussion on Women’s Accessibility recently.
The conversation brought together urban, social and transport sectors with representatives from the government, civil society, private sector and donors working on initiatives to improve women’s accessibility in the metro Colombo region.
Speaking further she said, “There is a large degree of harassment of women on public transport in Sri Lanka. According to the findings of a UNFPA study, over 90 percent of women have experienced harassment but just 4 percent of women have sought help from the Police.
“This study initiated in 2015, covered the whole country with 2500 respondents included in the survey. Findings indicate a wide range of mistreatment on public transport including leering, verbal abuse and unwelcome advances.
“The majority of harassment was physical. Women in low income groups of Sri Lanka rely heavily on public transport. There is clear evidence that harassment and the threat of harassment are limiting women’s mobility, participation in public life and overall well-being. Removing these barriers to women’s paid work will encourage more Sri Lankan women to participate in the workforce.
“I believe all of us working in Sri Lanka are accountable to help expand women’s options for productive, safe and fairly compensated work which in turn would benefit her family and also the country.”