About

Women Empowered Global® is a dedicated platform for female professionals, startups and women pursuing STEAM careers to enhance their skills, unlock their full potential and achieve greater leadership success in their career or business. We offer leadership and business accelerator programs to create a sustainable platform for women to be more efficient and effective in their ladder to success.

 

We are a not-for-profit organization that operates through a global society of multi-award winning female entrepreneurs, thought leaders, female best-selling authors, professionals and business heads from networks involving the public and private sector. Together with our global experts we design focused programs to enrich, develop and stimulate the female workforce.

 

Our aim is to see 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.

 

We are dedicated to using a comprehensive approach to address the ‘ecosystem’ of a working woman to help yield positive and holistic transformation.

CREDO

The HEART is in the Mission. Women Empowered® is founded on altruistic principles to tap into the divine self and calling to achieve greatness not purely for self-gratification but also as a means to be better equipped to serve others for a cause larger than self. This movement is dedicated to empowering 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 see 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 is grounded on beliefs that help to steer us towards achieving our goal of equipping women appropriately in order to add greater value to the community and society around them.

 

We believe women are a valuable asset to their family, community, society, country and the world. A woman can contribute towards the betterment of the world uniquely.

 

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 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.

About the Founder

 

Senela Jayasuriya-Abeynaike is a Transformation specialist, Leadership trainer and an Executive coach and has held many positions in leadership and strategy both in the corporate sector as well as in the service and advocacy domain.

 

 

She is a Director at the McQuire Group of Companies and has trained teams for some of the biggest multinational and public listed companies in the country. Senela has always been an avid believer that women can make a unique social and economic impact and contribution to society and the world.

 

 

Through her longtime dream Women Empowered®, she offers specially designed leadership grooming courses and services for women of all ages, in order to facilitate women to rise to board positions and positions of influence, where they can make a bigger and more meaningful impact for self, the business and society.

 

 

Senela received the prestigious WEF17 Award of “Iconic Women Creating a Better World for All” at the Annual Women Economic Forum 2017.  Senela was appointed as an Advisory Executive Council Member and session lead speaker and made a special address under the AEC plenary “Understanding the Century of Social Media and Personal Branding”.

 

 

Appointed as International Committee Member for Marketing, PR & Communications (2014/16 biennium) Zonta International (www.zonta.org); affiliated with the United Nations. Also the District Liaison for 7 Countries (AUS, SGP, PHL, THL, BNG, IND, SL). Made Board Director of the Zonta Club II of Colombo (District 25) for the 2014/16 biennium. Chairperson for the Young Women in Public Affairs scholarship and awards 2016. Co-Chair of the Jane M. Klausmen Women in Business scholarship and awards 2015. She is an Executive Committee Member of ESU and the Lead trainer and Coach for IPSC (UK).

 

 

She was the Country Manager for Sri Lanka & Head of Marketing – International (US, AUS, UAE, UK), for a reputed British firm in Hertfordshire, UK. Senela was also employed in a top Fortune 500 company headquartered in San Ramon (Cali., USA) involved in Brand Development, Marketing communications, PR, Stakeholder Management & CSR.

 

 

Her expertise are in Business, Marketing & Brand Communications, Strategy, Presentation & Public speaking, Personal branding & personality development, Executive coaching and Customer Service.

 

 

Her greatest pride is that she is a mother to a beautiful six year old daughter. Senela has many versatile leisure interests and enjoys travelling, music and photography which she explores during her spare time.

 

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® is honoured and thrilled to be working with high profile leaders from around the globe. They include award winning partners from the USA, UK, Africa and India. 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.

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