About

Women Empowered® Global is “A global society of award-winning influencers empowering women through career, leadership, and entrepreneurial programs”. Together with our global experts, we design focused programs to enrich, develop and stimulate the female workforce. To date, the company works with over 37 award-winning global partners and has a presence in over 23 countries across 6 continents.

 

We host a dedicated global platform for professionals, corporate employees, entrepreneurs, start-ups, millennials and women in STEM careers to enhance their skills and unlock their full potential. We conduct capacity building programs, business accelerator initiatives, and networking forums. Our diversified network and global expertise ensures an engaging and holistic approach for women to feel more connected, supported and confident in their aspirations to succeed.

 

We launched our global online growth academy called “The Empowered Academy” in 2018. Our vision here is to connect global participants with global leaders; enabling access to top-notch personal development & leadership training, tools and mentoring possible, affordable, convenient & empowering.

CREDO

The HEART is in the Mission. Women Empowered® Global is founded on altruistic principles to tap into the divine self and calling to achieve greatness not purely for self-gratification but as a means to be better equipped to serve others. This movement is dedicated to empowering and supporting an ecosystem of women of all ages to be influential, impactful and successful.

Mission

  • To help facilitate women to rise and lead with more influence and confidence through leadership grooming and mentoring.
  • To promote gender equality in decision-making in the public and private sector; in national parliament as well as local councils, in media and in corporate leadership and civil society.
  • To develop the female workforce through mentoring, coaching and other development initiatives.
  • Dedicated to using a comprehensive approach to address the ‘ecosystem’ of a working woman to help yield positive and holistic transformation.

Beliefs

Women Empowered® Global is grounded on beliefs that help to steer us towards achieving our goal of appropriately equipping women, as valuable assets, to add greater value to their families, community and society around them.

 

We believe being a strong woman would enable a family to be strong as well. The strength, courage and resilience shown by a woman will in turn encourage and motivate those around to strive towards betterment in all areas of life.

 

We believe that each woman has varying, unique, divine gifts that can be tapped into. These talents and abilities need to be honed and nurtured so that they would allow a person to rise to their fullest capabilities.

 

We stand for a united approach where we encourage and embrace the beauty of diversity. We believe that a woman’s journey to achieve personal and professional satisfaction is not a dichotomy but a milestone, not only for her but also her family, her children, her community.

 

We believe that the more women we have working, the more we would be able to access the resources that are yet unutilised which in turn would mean an increase in global economy.

The Core

No woman is an island. We each have unique talents and gifts and together we can achieve great things. Women Empowered® Global is honoured and thrilled to be working with high profile leaders from around the globe. They include award winning partners from the USA, UK, Australia, Switzerland, African countries, India and many others. The combination of their passion, strengths and thought- leadership from across the world would enable us to help women to realise their abilities to their fullest and would make a resourceful catalyst for a long lasting and impacting change. Their plenteous experience and world class expertise is immeasurable in our efforts to bring revival within women empowerment. Our core team consists of a diverse community of women across the public, private, and non-profit sectors, many of whom are successful business owners and entrepreneurs themselves.

About the Founder

 

“Helping people achieve higher-performance, for a higher purpose”

 

Senela Jayasuriya, awarded “Exceptional Women of Excellence” by the Women Economic Forum and recipient of the “Women Icons Asia Award” is a leadership expert specialized in DEI and Innovation. She is the Founder & Global CEO of Women Empowered Global and the Founder of 1 Million Women in Power, as well as the Managing Director of Diverse, an innovation consulting company specialized in innovation strengths assessments and innovation coaching. Senela is also an Ambassador to the United States Presidential Service Center focusing on DEI training & advocacy programs. She also sits on the Board of The Rotary Club of Global Impact as well as on the Board of Zonta Club II of Colombo, under Zonta International. She has been recognized among the top 150 GLOBAL WOMEN LEADERS by GCPIT, 2022. Senela has been awarded with the “Global Women in Leadership Award 2022”.

 

She is a Certified transformation coach, a Certified Innovation Coach and a Certified expert in Personal Agility. She has trained teams from the World Bank, United Nations, and Fortune 500 companies. Senela has been invited as a global Keynote speaker and panelist to numerous local and international events and summits to share her experience, ideas, and inspiration on DEI & Women’s Career advancement, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation & Leadership. Senela is also a Judge, Speaker & Mentor at various startup events and incubator programs locally & International. She has been featured and interviewed in magazines, podcasts, television shows and thought-leadership panels in the USA, UK, Norway, Germany, Australia, Africa, Singapore, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and more.

 

Former Country Director for Tech Company and Communications Lead for a Fortune 100. In 2018, transitioned from corporate to entrepreneurship. In twelve months, scaled the company from a 2 member local team to a diverse & inclusive global team in Africa, Europe, South Asia & North America.

 

Senela is among the 13 trailblazing women from 13 countries around the world, featured in the book “𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥” released during Global Entrepreneurship Week USA! The mission of the Movement is to increase gender equality in international trade. Senela has been featured in the “𝐔𝐒 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐞” by the USPSC with The White House as well as the “𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚” documentary film, World Premier for Women@Work.

 

GLOBAL AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS:
🏆”Global Women in Leadership Award 2022″, GCPIT
🏆”G100 Country Chair for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, 2022″
🏆”eYs Magazine Ambassador for IWD 2022″, Australia
🏆“Exceptional Women of Excellence”, WEF 2018
🏆“2018 Women Icons Asia Award”, Singapore
🏆CMO Asia “SL Women Leadership Award – 2018”
🏆“Iconic Women Creating a Better World for All”, WEF 2017
🏆Special recognition plaque from The GSEW in New York, US

 

Global Advisory Board.

Dr. Nalin Jayasuriya

Chairman, McQuire Rens Global Consulting,
Colombo, Sri Lanka

Ms. Senela Jayasuriya

Global CEO, Women Empowered Global, President of African Women Leadership Forum, Global Talent Development Specialist

Dr. Jeewa Perera

Chief Executive Officer, Deep Data Insight
Tennessee, USA

Mrs. Shanaaz Preena

Former Director Women Go-Beyond/ Women's Advocacy - MAS Holdings, Sri lanka

Mr. Rajesh Tedla

Chief Transformation Officer, VRT Management Group
Connecticut, USA

Policy & Governance

We stand to uphold these covenant and principles and see its manifestation for the betterment of women in Sri Lanka, for local, regional and global impact.

CEDAW

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women.  Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.

 

By accepting the Convention, States commit themselves to undertake a series of measures to end discrimination against women in all forms, including:

 

 

 

WE principles for the workplace, marketplace and community

The Women’s Empowerment Principles is the result of a collaboration between the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the United Nations Global Compact and are adapted from the Calvert Women’s Principles®.

 

Based on the 7 WE Principles that emphasizes the business case for corporate action to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment, Women Empowered® is committed to uphold and see the manifestation of the following 5 principles in Asia, for local, regional and global impact.

 

WE Principle 1: Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality

 

Leadership Promotes Gender Equality

  • Affirm high-level support and direct top-level policies for gender equality and human rights
  • Establish company-wide goals and targets for gender equality and include progress as a factor in managers’ performance reviews
  • Engage internal and external stakeholders in the development of company policies, programmes and implementation plans that advance equality
  • Ensure that all policies are gender-sensitive – identifying factors that impact women and men differently – and that corporate culture advances equality and inclusion

 

Company Examples

  • An international mining group headquartered in the UK, commissioned a resource guide on how to engage women and community groups as a major policy directive of its business operations.
  • A company assessment at the highest level by a global accounting and consulting firm determined that the company was losing out on business by failing to attract and retain highly skilled female professionals, and on the basis of these findings, worked to change company culture and policies through leadership and board involvement.
  • The leadership of an East Asian apparel manufacturer implemented an integrated, comprehensive approach to women’s empowerment through programmes recognizing female employees’ accomplishments and supporting women’s advancement in the company through wide-ranging education, training and safety initiatives.

WE Principle 2: Treat all women and men fairly at work – respect and support human rights and non-discrimination

 

Equal Opportunity, Inclusion and Nondiscrimination

  • Pay equal remuneration, including benefits, for work of equal value and strive to pay a living wage to all women and men
  • Ensure that workplace policies and practices are free from gender-based discrimination
  • Implement gender-sensitive recruitment and retention practices and proactively recruit and appoint women to managerial and executive positions and to the corporate board of directors
  • Assure sufficient participation of women – 30% or greater – in decision-making and governance at all levels and across all business areas
  • Offer flexible work options, leave and re-entry opportunities to positions of equal pay and status
  • Support access to child and dependent care by providing services, resources and information to both women and men

 

Company Examples

  • To retain and attract more qualified women, an Eastern European microfinance group initiated a broad-based data collection and analysis exercise, followed up with recommendations on the treatment of its female employees.
  • In an effort to close gender-based pay gaps, a global insurance group dedicated 1.25 million Euros over three years.
  • A large financial services company in Australia offers a parental leave policy that provides a total of two years parental leave for the primary care giver, which can be taken flexibly, rather than on a full-time basis.
  • To support diversity and inclusion, a multinational steel company established a special committee comprised of management and women workers that identifies concerns of female employees an in response organizes trainings and programmes.

WE Principle 4: Promote education, training and professional development for women

 

Education and Training

  • Invest in workplace policies and programmes that open avenues for advancement of women at all levels and across all business areas, and encourage women to enter nontraditional job fields
  • Ensure equal access to all company-supported education and training programmes, including literacy classes, vocational and information technology training
  • Provide equal opportunities for formal and informal networking and mentoring
  • Articulate the company’s business case for women’s empowerment and the positive impact of inclusion for men as well as women

 

Company Examples

  • To open opportunities for women’s career advancement in IT fields, a US-based multinational technology company maintains strategic partnerships with women’s organizations in many of the countries where it operates, to promote education and training and recognize women’s accomplishments in IT.
  • A large European airline company reaches out to youth through education projects to break down the barriers that traditionally limit women to certain jobs in the industry and men to others.
  • A large financial services company in Australia offers numerous initiatives aimed at supporting women in business, including an online platform to help Australian women connect with other women in business internationally to share information, research and career advice.
  • A Chinese international transport company established special employee committees to identify and design programmes and information tailored to the distinct needs and interests of female workers.

WE Principle 5: Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women

 

Enterprise Development, Supply Chain and Marketing Practices

  • Expand business relationships with women-owned enterprises, including small businesses, and women entrepreneurs
  • Support gender-sensitive solutions to credit and lending barriers
  • Ask business partners and peers to respect the company’s commitment to advancing equality and inclusion
  • Respect the dignity of women in all marketing and other company materials
  • Ensure that company products, services and facilities are not used for human trafficking and/or labour or sexual exploitation

 

Company Examples

  • Recognizing the expanding role of women entrepreneurs, a large UK-based bank launched specialized financial services, microfinance opportunities and business loans and also provides an online resource center for women entrepreneurs running small and medium-sized enterprises.
  • A Swedish manufacturer helps women producers of raw materials in developing countries to trade directly with the manufacturer, thus improving their income by reducing the number of intermediaries in the supply chain.
  • To make the scope of violence against women visible to an international public, a global advertising company partnered with a UN organization to develop a public awareness campaign using television and the internet.

WE Principle 6: Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy

 

Community Leadership and Engagement

  • Lead by example – showcase company commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment
  • Leverage influence, alone or in partnership, to advocate for gender equality and collaborate with business partners, suppliers and community leaders to promote inclusion
  • Work with community stakeholders, officials and others to eliminate discrimination and exploitation and open opportunities for women and girls
  • Promote and recognize women’s leadership in, and contributions to, their communities and ensure sufficient representation of women in any community consultation
  • Use philanthropy and grants programmes to support company commitment to inclusion, equality and human rights

 

Company Examples

  • A large international cosmetics company launched and sold products to raise funds for community-based organizations working to end domestic violence around the world.
  • A multinational mining company with operations in Ghana implemented a gender mainstreaming programme to encourage female employees to assume greater responsibility within the mine and connect to the local community.
  • A US-based multinational apparel manufacturer awards grants to community-based organizations to empower women in localities where it does business.

Global Partners

Women Empowered® Global has tied up with an array of empowering individuals around the world. Each with their own authentic and inimitable individualities, brings to the table, varied brands of strength, boldness, understanding and inspiration. We are truly thrilled to have each one of them on board to bring empowerment closer to you. Click here to view full list of global experts we have partnered with.

Global Team.

Senela Jayasuriya
Chief Executive Officer of WEG & President of AWLF
Sharan Sepion
Secretary & Coordinator to CEO
Humaiyra Mowlana
Digital team
Shanaaz Preena
Advisory Mentoring & Empowerment services
Ruchi Sharma
Personal Growth Officer Global ops
Charlie Palumbo
WEG Team Virginia, USA
Sharon Lee
CassanoLochman WEG Team New York, USA
Abigail Oppong
AWLF Committee member Ghana, Africa
Lars John
Lead Global Online Academy Global Ops
Dr. Charuni Senanayake
Life Coach Sri Lanka
Dr. Kaushalya Perera
NCD Coach Sri Lanka
Sindujaa Selliah
(Psychologist) Mental Health Coach Sri Lanka
Velveeta Viban
AWLF Committee member Cameroon, Africa
Roneski White
Consultant, WEG Team, Sri Lanka
Ruth Crooks
Lead - Program Monitoring & Evaluation, Global Ops
Aruni De Mel Akhil
Liaison - Corporate Partnerships
Tawnya Scott
WEG Team Michigan, USA
Rozanne De Silva
Events PR Sri Lanka
Lynette Komugisha
AWLF Committee member Uganda, Africa
Venya Rajapaksa
Coordination Officer, WEG Team Sri Lanka
Salome Wahid
WEG Team Sri Lanka
Samuel Okorie
AWLF Committee member Nigeria, Africa
Sachitha Fernando
Social media coordinator WEG Team Sri Lanka
Binuri De Silva
Coordination Division WEG Team Sri Lanka
Nishu Gunawardana
Media Relations WEG Sri Lanka
Arthur Matovu
AWLF Committee member Uganda, Africa
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