Seylan Bank, the Bank with a Heart, was recently honoured at Sri Lanka's first ever Women Friendly Workplace Awards 2021 (WFWP), pioneered jointly by the Satyn Magazine and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Sri Lanka. Seylan Bank was named one of the Top Ten Places to Work for Women at the award ceremony that took place on 2^nd November, 2021, at the Cinnamon Grand. The bank was assessed based on how supportive and empowering they were to women at work.

The WFWP Awards are widely recognized as strengthening women's roles in the workplace in Sri Lanka and reinforcing Sri Lanka's commitment to the United Nations SDG 05, which targets gender equality and opportunity.

“We are really grateful for the opportunity provided by Satyn Magazine and CIMA to showcase our commitment to equality. Seylan Bank has always pushed for equal opportunities and a diverse workforce. We are happy that 46 percent of the employee base at Seylan are women and many board committees within the organization are led by female Directors. 20 percent of the company's Senior Management and 34 percent of the management team is made up of women. 20 percent of the entire employee cadre at Seylan is managed and led by women. Seylan has been a safe and welcoming environment for women to work, and the company has provided equal opportunities for women to advance in their careers. Seylan is also actively working on ensuring more female representation at the Bank in the future”, stated Amanthi Motha, Chief Manager Human Resources at Seylan Bank PLC. 

The pandemic did have an impact on Seylan Bank's operations, but this has not discouraged the organization from investing in workplace policies and programmes that encourage women's progress at all levels and in all business sectors. The Bank promotes and supports women in achieving their professional goals. It has encouraged women's empowerment because it realizes that the variety and talent of its staff provides value to consumers and shareholders. The organization believes in encouraging them to join higher-level teams, ensuring that women are adequately represented in future leadership roles.

“Employee diversity within a company is crucial for human capital stability, which is why we are committed to fostering gender equality and equal opportunities at work. We believe that the future workforce will be equal, and the organization has set ambitious targets to achieve gender equality sooner rather than later. By making this pledge, we will be able to enhance our female employee retention rate, resulting in improved growth and sustainability for the economy as a whole”, added Sharon Fonseka, Assistant General Manager, Corporate Credit at Seylan Bank PLC.

The Women Friendly Workplace Awards 2021 were judged by a distinguished panel of judges including corporate leader Ravi Abeysuriya, FCMA CGMA, ;  Manohari Abeysekera FCMA CGMA – Council Member for South Asia, CIMA – UK; Dumindra Ratnayaka, Chairman of Suvaseriya; Prof. Arosha Adikaram, Head of HR Department University of Colombo; Jeevan Thyagarajah, Governor of the Northern Province; Zahara Ansary, FCMA, CGMA, Country Manager - CIMA and Nayomini R Weerasooriya – Founder/Editor of Satyn Magazine

Seylan Bank, the Bank with a Heart, operates with a vision to offer the ultimate banking experience to its valued customers through cutting-edge technology, innovative products, and best-in-class services. The Bank has a growing clientele of SMEs, Retail and Corporate Customers, and has expanded its footprint with 172 branches, 70 Cash Deposit Machines, 86 Cheque Deposit Machines and an ATM network of 216 units across the country. Seylan Bank has been endorsed as a financially stable organization with performance excellence across the board by Fitch Ratings, with the bank’s national long-term rating revised to ‘A’ (lka). The bank was ranked second among public listed companies for transparency in corporate reporting by Transparency Global and is now part of the S&P Dow Jones SL 20 Index. These achievements are a testament to Seylan Bank’s financial stability and unwavering dedication to ensuring excellence across all aspects.

Image Caption - Jayantha Amarasinghe, Deputy General Manager, Human Resource and Sharon Fonseka, Assistant General Manager, Corporate Credit at Seylan Bank PLC  receiving the ‘Women Friendly Workplace Awards 2021’.