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’s motto is to help others achieve higher performance for a higher purpose. She is an award-winning global speaker, leadership trainer & certified coach and has worked with over 15,000 individuals to date to help them tap in to their hidden potential, face their fears, and overcome self-limiting beliefs to turn around their careers around and increase their performance effectiveness. Much of Senela’s work focuses around heart-centered leadership and conscious goal setting. She has multi-sectorial training experience having worked with a diverse portfolio of companies and professionals on various training and development needs. Senela especially enjoys working with programs that empower youth, children and women.

She has received numerous awards internationally for her work in empowering individuals for peak performance. She is passionate about helping people discover their potential for higher-performance, for a higher purpose. Her greatest pride is that she is a mother to a beautiful daughter. Senela has many versatile leisure interests and enjoys travelling, music and photography which she explores during her spare time. To connect with Senela on LinkedIn, click here.

Global Advisory Board.

Dr. Nalin Jayasuriya

Chairman, McQuire Rens Global Consulting,
Colombo, Sri Lanka

Mrs. Senela Jayasuriya

CEO of Women Empowered Global,
President of African Women Leadership Forum,
High-Performance Global Trainer & Leadership Coach, Sri lanka

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:

to incorporate the principle of equality of men and women in their legal system, abolish all discriminatory laws and adopt appropriate ones prohibiting discrimination against women;
to establish tribunals and other public institutions to ensure the effective protection of women against discrimination; and
to ensure elimination of all acts of discrimination against women by persons, organizations or enterprises.

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.

About

CREDO

Mission

Beliefs

The Core

About the Founder

Global Advisory Board.

Policy & Governance

CEDAW

WE principles for the workplace, marketplace and community

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

Leadership Promotes Gender Equality

Company Examples

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

Equal Opportunity, Inclusion and Nondiscrimination

Company Examples

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

Education and Training

Company Examples

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

Enterprise Development, Supply Chain and Marketing Practices

Company Examples

WE Principle 6: Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy

Community Leadership and Engagement

Company Examples

Global Partners

Global Team.