A forum for career women, conducted by career women
Top 50 Professional and Career Women Annual Conference 2018 organised by Women in Management (WIM) is scheduled to be held on 4 December from 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. at the Galle Face Hotel, Colombo, under the theme “Price We Pay for Success”.
Women in Management (WIM) works to empower Sri Lankan career women and women entrepreneurs by connecting them and by providing leadership and guidance to nurture their knowledge and skills. The organisation also inspires such women to achieve their goals; to act as conduits in the transformation of the role of women in career and business into a dynamic force.
The conference will be chaired, addressed, and attended by leading women in the corporate world and they will take the stage to share their personal journeys and the challenges to bring to the fore the real-world experiences of a working woman. Kasturi Chellaraja Wilson, a speaker of the conference, stated: “This is a forum where 33 individuals will share their personal stories to make a positive impact on society.”
Thalatha Athukorala, Managing Director of Jetwing Travels Shiromal Cooray, and the Chief Executive Officer of SIMDI Group of Companies Maldives Maryam Shakeela, will be the keynote speakers of the conference. Speaking on the significance of the conference at the press conference held recently to announce the event, Shiromal Cooray stated: “This conference will open multiple doors for women who are in search of career success.”
The conference will be divided into eight sessions and will deal with content that will appeal to men and women in corporate spheres. The sessions will include pressing topics such as, “The Messy Journey of Womanhood”, “#MeToo – Are We Safe as Woman in our Workplace?”, “Parenting – If There Was an App”, “Their Journey”, “Having a Successful Career and Being Single. Is There an Impact?”, “Men in Suits – How We See ‘HER’”, “Second Careers for Women”, “The Man Who is Not Right”, and “Finding Your Way and Your Voice”.
The sessions will be conducted by men and women in positions of management. The conference is scheduled to be led by 33 speakers from diverse fields of work, including finance, marketing, human resources, legal and law enforcement, media, logistics, and many more. Fonterra Brands Lanka HR Director Dinusha Fernando, Women in Work IFC Programme Manager Carmen Niethammer, Member of Parliament Dr. Kavinda Jayawardana, HI Magazine Editor Shyamalee Tudawe, and marine biologist and Oceanswell Executive Director Dr. Asha de Vos are some of the speakers who will address the forum at the conference.
A special segment will be held, referred to as the all-male session, where the man’s perspective of women at work will be discussed. Another networking session will take place where attendees may forge new relationships and share their stories with one another.
A significant landmark
Speaking on the ‘Women Top 50’ conference, Chairperson Dr. Sulochana Segera said: “The Women Top 50 Conference will be an important landmark event, as it will be a forum to listen and be inspired by many life journeys told by women in the workplace, and possibly provide the window for corporate to continue the discourse and introduce pertinent policies.”
This is a full day conference that will be open to Sri Lankans as well as foreigners. Inquires and registration can be made via email-admin@womeninmanagement.org or 0772307356.
By Pujanee Galappaththi
Photos: Pradeep Dambarage
