📈 Sri Lanka Highlights Key Economic Sectors at India–Finland Gender Empowerment Dialogue

Sri Lanka’s Consul General in Mumbai, Priyanga Wickramasinghe, represented the nation as a regional benchmark for high human development indicators at the India–Finland Dialogue on Gender Equality, Inclusion and Women’s Empowerment hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Mumbai. • Key Insights & Structural Interventions: - Stated that strong educational and healthcare foundations do not automatically grant economic authority, boardroom representation, or political leadership without structural policy support. - Stressed the urgent need to recognize unpaid care work and strengthen rights-based economic inclusion for working-class women. • Key Sector Protections: - Highlighted the necessity of safeguarding women employed in critical foreign revenue-earning industries, specifically apparel & textiles, tea exports, and foreign remittances. • Policy Recommendations: - Advised shared state and private sector investment in care infrastructure, including gender-neutral parental leave and employer-supported childcare. - Called for target-driven representation of women in leadership, pointing to Sri Lanka’s 25% local government quota as a precedent, while expanding financial inclusion and digital skills for women entrepreneurs.