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AIA reminds you to celebrate diversity everyday
AIA Insurance, one of Sri Lanka’s Best Workplaces for women for five consecutive years (2018-2022) has dedicated the month of March to celebrate diversity across all strata of women, to reflect on progress made and to call for greater gender equality and inclusivity, not just in the company, but across the country. As usual, AIA celebrates International Women’s Day not just on the 08th of March, but rather an entire month dedicated to recognize, honour and appreciate the role of the woman with a series of carefully curated line of events that are fun, inspirational and educational.
Last year, AIA together with IFC – under the IFC-DFAT Women in Work programme – launched ‘ඇය සුරකින AIA’ – a women’s programme that empowers women across the island and the Company will continue its endeavour to support women to be courageous, confident, to feel valued and appreciated, while ensuring to protect her and provide her with financial security.
Women everywhere want and deserve a future with equal rights and opportunities for all, free from stigma and stereotypes. At AIA Insurance, this is a serious mission. AIA provides numerous benefits for women employees and agents and continues to promote a culture of meritocracy with the aim of providing all employees fair and equal opportunities to bring out the best in them and support them to achieve their career aspirations.
AIA has taken many sustained efforts in this regard and ensured that the Company’s women employees are groomed and encouraged to take up senior leadership roles through a carefully curated unbiased career development process. As a result, today, 41% of AIA’s employees are women, 48% of the sales force are women and 52% among the top 100 high performers. 26% of AIA’s senior management are women with the Company’s women in insurance special roles including 69% in operations and 50% in actuarial. So, there is no limit to their potential.
While a gender inclusive work environment is encouraged, it is noteworthy that at AIA, International Men’s Day is also celebrated each year, to appreciate the strength men bring to all of us. The Company also revamped the ‘New Parents Support Scheme’ where both fathers and mothers can benefit from.
The Company’s commitment goes beyond their employees and extends to their customers, female entrepreneurs and the community as well. AIA is the only Company in Sri Lanka that has conducted a market study on the needs, preferences, and challenges of Sri Lankan women, in collaboration with IFC, to develop a holistic women-centric business strategy. Through the ‘ඇය සුරකින AIA’ platform, AIA hopes to further launch many initiatives for women including employees, agents, customers and community at large. AIA also recently partnered the Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce (WCIC) to promote women entrepreneurship across the nation. Further, AIA’s She Protect a first-of-its-kind protection plan provides a higher protection cover to one of the most important customer segments in our market: women. ‘She Protect’ offers a range of optional benefits for women customers to personalise the protection they need based on their lifestyle and desires, for affordable premiums.
AIA is happy to celebrate the progress on diversity, equality and inclusivity, made thus far while not forgetting to keep working towards enabling respect, safety and opportunity for women not only at work but across the country.
The U.S. Embassy in Colombo welcomed the U.S. Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, former National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players Stephen Howard and Astou Ndiaye, from June 8 through 14.
The Public Diplomacy section of the U.S. Embassy said that it would launch a weeklong basketball program intended to harness the unifying power of sports, made possible through collaboration with Foundation of Goodness and IImpact Hoop Lab.
While in Sri Lanka, Howard and Ndiaye, both retired professional basketball players, will conduct a weeklong program, Hoops for Hope: Bridging Borders through Basketball. The Sports Envoys will lead basketball clinics and exhibition matches and engage in leadership sessions in Colombo and Southern Province for youth aged 14-18 from Northern, Uva, Eastern and Western Provinces, offering skills and leadership training both on and off the court. The U.S. Envoys will also share their expertise with the Sri Lanka Basketball Federation, national coaches, and players, furthering the development of basketball in the country. Beyond the clinics, they will collaborate with Sri Lankan schoolchildren to take part in a community service project in the Colombo area.
“We are so proud to welcome Stephen and Astou as our Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, to build on the strong people-to-people connections between the United States and Sri Lanka,” said U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung. “The lessons that will be shared by our Sports Envoys – communication, teamwork, resilience, inclusion, and conflict resolution – are essential for leadership development, community building, equality, and peace. The U.S. Sports Envoy program is a testament to our belief that sports can be a powerful tool in promoting peace and unity.”
SJB Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahuman in parliament demanded to know from the government the reasons for CEB suspending the leave of all its employees until further notice from Thursday.
MP Rahuman said that the CEB has got an acting General Manager anew and the latter yesterday morning issued a circular suspending leave of all CEB employees with immediate effect until further notice.
“We demand that Minister Kanchana Wijesekera should explain this to the House. This circular was issued while this debate on the new Electricity Amendment Bill was pending. There are many who oppose this Bill. The Minister must tell parliament the reason for the urge to cancel the leave of CEB employees,” the MP said.However, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena prevented Minister Wijesekera responding to the query and said that the matter raised by MP Rahuman was not relevant.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) successfully concluded the 8th Annual CIPM Symposium, which took place on 31st May 2024. Themed “Nurturing the Human Element—Redefining HRM in a Rapidly Changing World,” the symposium underscored the pivotal role of human resource management (HRM) in today’s dynamic global landscape. Since its inception in 1959, CIPM has been dedicated to advancing the HR profession through education, professional development, and advocacy, solidifying its position as Sri Lanka’s leading professional body for HRM.
Ken Vijayakumar, the President of the CIPM, graced the occasion as the chief guest. The symposium commenced with the welcome address by the Chairperson, Prof. Arosha Adikaram, followed by the Web Launch of the Symposium Proceedings and Abstract Book by the CIPM President. The event featured distinguished addresses, including a speech by Chief Guest Ken Vijayakumar, President of CIPM, and an address by Guest of Honor Shakthi Ranatunga, Chief Operating Officer of MAS Holdings Pvt. Ltd., Sri Lanka.
The symposium also featured an inspiring keynote address by Prof. Mario Fernando, Professor of Management and Director of the Centre for Cross Cultural Management (CCCM) at the University of Wollongong, Australia.
Vote of Thanks of the inauguration session was delivered by Dr. Dillanjani Weeratunga, Symposium Co-chair.
The symposium served as a comprehensive platform for researchers to present their findings across a wide range of critical topics in HRM. These included Cultural Diversity and Inclusion, Talent Development and Retention, Ethical Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility, Adapting to Technological Advancements, Mental Health and Well-being at Work, Global Workforce Challenges, Employee Empowerment, and Reskilling and Upskilling.
The plenary session was led by Prof. Wasantha Rajapakse. Certificates were awarded to the best paper presenters during the valedictory session, followed by a vote of thanks delivered by Kamani Perera, Manager of Research and Development.
The annual symposium of CIPM was a truly inclusive event, attracting a diverse audience that spanned undergraduates, graduates, working professionals, research scholars and lecturers. This widespread interest highlights the symposium’s significance in the field of HRM, offering a unique opportunity for everyone to network and learn from scholarly brains.The CIPM International Research Symposium was sponsored by Hambantota International Port, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), E B Creasy & Co. PLC, and Print Xcel Company.
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
