UNDP urges Inclusion of More Women in Sri Lanka's Formal Sector

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative Azusa Kubota said that Sri Lanka’s women have carried most of the burden for recent crises by increasing the financial as well as emotional responsibilities.

Representative Azusa gave the statement during the 39th Annual General Meeting of the Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce that took place very recently. She said that the country should keep an active focus on integrating more females into the formal sector since these women’s ubiquity in informal sector creates socio-economic issues’ host that hamper the economic progress in Sri Lanka.

She continued, “It was found that over half of Sri Lankans are multi-dimensionally vulnerable – meaning if any shock – be it economic or natural – hits these vulnerable families, they will fall right into the cycle of poverty, making it so difficult to come out of it. The leading contributor to their vulnerability was household debt.”

Adding to the statement, she stated, “Women’s potential (in Sri Lanka) to contribute to the economy is undervalued and untapped and remains nearly invisible. In 2021, only 9.5 percent of directors in Sri Lanka’s listed companies were women. The recently concluded Presidential Election had no male candidate. This shows how the decisions on issues of national importance are made.”