‘SL society is reluctant to accept a country head who wears denims and sneakers’
Chathini Uduwana, Sri Lanka Country Head for multinational software company Typefi, wanted to create a legacy. She wanted to challenge people who told her that she wouldn’t be able to achieve her dreams, and challenge – she did.
Coding is a sphere where one wouldn’t see a lot of women at the helm, according to Uduwana. “The IT industry has not been recognised as a safe environment for females to pursue a career,” she shares. Uduwana has noticed a different focus in women who enter the job market. “They are more comfortable working as software or quality assurance engineers and do not want to climb up the ladder. The majority give up at one point, whether to prioritise family life or their career. But in my experience, the work-life balance is easy if you get in with an exemplary organisation. I have never sacrificed my personal or family commitments due to the workload,” she adds.
Typefi is a global leader in automated publishing for print, online, and mobile. In 2014, Uduwana got an opportunity to meet Typefi CEO Chandi Perera and Typefi Vice President – Research and Development Ben Hauser. “Typefi Australia was looking for options to expand operations to Sri Lanka. At that time, I was looking for a challenge, and this was an ideal opportunity for me,” says Uduwana. Her driven nature really shone when she agreed to open Typefi Systems (Pvt) Ltd. in Sri Lanka. “It was purely based on the trust and the gut feeling that I would succeed,” she shares.
A young Uduwana, with no experience in finance, (yet armed with technical and project management know-how), initially started working with Hauser. After gathering an understanding of the global Typefi team, she launched headlong into the challenge. “Typefi is a multinational company, and we have employees from all around the world. The initial years were challenging; I struggled to find resources and handle local and international legalities,” she confesses.
Today, as Country Head, she is involved in developing, implementing, and monitoring the organisation’s strategic planning with the other executives. We caught up with Uduwana, who thinks it’s rare to find women who can code in senior positions in Sri Lanka.
Here are some excerpts from our chat:
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I come from an average Sri Lankan family; my father was a businessman and my mother was a teacher. Now they are both retired. I am married and my husband works in the apparel sector. He is lovely, and we are perfect partners. He accepts me as I am; he is a solid pillar and always encourages me. I am very close to my parents as well as to my in-laws. Thinking back, I appreciate my roots and upbringing. My father wanted me to become independent, earn well, and have my own life. He always said that a woman is not independent unless she is financially independent.
I had a carefree childhood with my elder sister. I studied at Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo 8. I was a popular kid in school, participating in all sorts of extracurricular activities. I was also a prefect and a band leader. My school shaped my discipline, gave me an understanding of society, and gifted me with my lifelong best friends. Then I graduated from APIIT with a BSc (Hons) in Business Information Technology.
I was mischievous, always wanting to break tradition. However, my parents are awesome; they never hesitated when I said I wanted to learn this or that. It is not about the money; it is the understanding of the value of education. I think my grandparents influenced me to live life a certain way, to enjoy the little things, and to follow my dreams without worrying about society.
What is it that you do in your role as Sri Lanka Country Head for Typefi?
Typefi is a software company, so as a head of a global software company, I am more involved in developing, implementing, and monitoring the organisation’s strategic planning with the other executives. My job role isn’t limited to the Sri Lankan entity; I work with all other entities worldwide, including Australia, the US, the UK, and the Netherlands. In terms of the Sri Lankan entity, it is my responsibility to drive action throughout the organisation to get products to market, overlooking the engineering, finance, administration, HR, products, and operations.
I didn’t have a Human Resource (HR) background or experience, but I self-learned the basics. Now I enjoy working with staff, trying new ways to increase their effectiveness, communicating values, strategies, and objectives, assigning accountabilities, planning, monitoring, and appraising job results.
Recently, we changed our work mode to hybrid, so it is challenging to get rid of the old ways and turn to new ways. We are in the latter part of the transition; I enjoy strategising the work processes accordingly. I believe employee well-being is essential for the success of a company. I have learned that creating a workplace with positive vibes and assuring psychological safety and well-being is more complex than solving a technical problem.
What sparked your interest in entering the field you’re in and the type of work that you do?
Very simply, I wanted to be someone who travelled to other countries for business, have the ability to buy anything that I like, and live a life without asking for money from my parents. I had a vision in my head and wanted to be ‘that woman’. Right after my A/Ls, I completed my British Computer Society exams, and then I realised I liked this field. I read about Marissa Mayer, and that inspired me. I figured that after five or six years, there will be a good market for female technopreneurs.
You have noted that it’s rare to find women who can code who are in senior positions in Sri Lanka. Care to elaborate on why you feel this way?
The IT industry has a broad spectrum of career choices – software engineering, quality assurance, business analyst, project managers, product owners, DevOps, system engineers, data scientists, etc. Even though we produce a competitive number of female graduates from computer science and IT faculties, they do not get into the job market. This is because people have a misconception about the IT/CS/engineering industry as one where a female employee cannot survive.
As software companies, we need talent; we are always looking for people. However, we don’t get many CVs from female engineers. The main reason for that is the mentality of parents. Even now, the IT industry has not been recognised as a safe environment for females to consider a career in.
Once female employees enter the job market, I have noticed their focus is different; maybe it is the cultural and social influence. They are more comfortable working as software or QA engineers and do not want to climb up the ladder. The majority give up at one point, whether to prioritise family life or their career. But in my experience, the work-life balance is easy if you get in with an exemplary organisation. I have never sacrificed my personal or family commitments due to the workload.
Sri Lankan female engineers and tech graduates need a change in their attitude and proper guidance to see the opportunities they have globally. Most female engineers hesitate to come out of their comfort zone, speak up, and demand change. They are scared to take that extra step, so at one point, they stop growing. We have female heads in most other industries in Sri Lanka, but even until today, the IT/software industry is a male-dominant territory. I think that is mainly because of our attitude towards the industry. The lack of support from family units can be a primary reason for this.
What are the challenges, if any, that you face, and how do you overcome them?
These days my biggest challenge is staying sane amidst the political and social crisis in Sri Lanka. It has impacted my staff, as the quality of life has been challenged. I do my best to assure and make my team feel that they are safe. For example, we peg the salaries to AUD to decrease the burden of inflation.
Besides that, I find it challenging to be ‘myself,’ as I don’t fall into the traditional woman’s role in Sri Lanka. Even today, Sri Lankan society is reluctant to accept a country head who wears denim and sneakers.
‘Women in tech are rare in the world.’ Is this statement still true in 2022?
There is a visible pay gap and gender discrimination that people are not discussing openly. Then Covid-19 happened and people started working from home. It is a comfortable work environment for male engineers, but female engineers have to take care of the kids and household work while managing work. If a family unit has to decide who will take care of the kids, the answer is most likely going to be the woman.
Underrepresentation of women is a global issue, as most communities do not recognise women in tech as a viable career option for females.
What advice would you give from the lessons you’ve learned being a woman in tech to youngsters looking to get into and make it in the tech/software industry?
Recently, I spoke to a couple of young female graduates from State universities, and their perspectives surprised me. First of all, have a clear idea of what you want. Then, if you know what you want, go for that without compromising your dreams for something else. There are many opportunities, and once you become a competitive professional, that will surprise you.
Prioritise the objectives and have a game plan for that. Do not be a fragile female in this industry. Gender doesn’t matter; if you can perform well, then let that be the criteria to judge you. Finally, and most importantly, be realistic and independent. The software business is a global industry; you may work from Sri Lanka, but make sure you are gaining international exposure.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Finally, I want to tell you that nothing comes easily – it is a continuous process. If you have a dream, you have to work for that and you should believe in yourself. I wanted to create a legacy. I wanted to challenge people who said I wouldn’t be able to achieve my dreams. Parents play a prominent role there, empowering their kids, trusting their life choices, and letting them do what they want. Sri Lankan women are amazing, they can go a long way if they can come out of their own little boxes.