The topic of female empowerment in the workplace has gained significant attention in recent years, as women continue to break barriers and shatter glass ceilings in industries traditionally dominated by men. Despite progress, there is still much work to be done to achieve true gender equality in the workplace, and Dilrukshi Kurukulasuriya, Executive Director/Chief Human Resources Officer of DIMO, has been a stalwart champion of this cause from a very early stage.
A proud alumnus of Hillwood College Kandy, Dilrukshi was an outstanding student who excelled in her studies and was appointed Head Girl in the year 1989. Afterwards she began her studies to become a doctor, as this was what was expected of her by her family, but soon realised that this was not her true passion and began pursuing a career as an Attorney at Law in the corporate sector. It was here she found her true calling in the field of Human Resources and decided to further her education on this subject by completing her diploma while also attending several gender related courses at ITC – Turin to enhance her exposure to the subject matter due to her interest in Gender Studies. She also obtained an EMBA from the University of West London with a merit.
As a business operating in what may be referred to as male dominated industries, it is already quite the achievement for Dilrukshi to be appointed to the main board of DIMO and it demonstrates how the organisation values diversity at the highest level of management. DIMO also aggressively encourages women to take responsible decision-making positions and that is facilitated by its DE & I initiatives such as implementing Employee Resource Groups and Women Leadership Development programs and in addition to Dilrukshi, the company has a significant representation of women in decision making positions.
Empowerment is defined as the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes. Armed with her education, intelligence, and experience Dilrukshi strives to create an environment where women have equal opportunities to advance, are valued for their contributions, and are supported in their personal and professional growth through coaching programs, education & awareness and creating opportunities for women to take up leadership positions. She is also a highly influential corporate ambassador for gender equality and uses her influence to inspire her corporate counterparts and peers to empower themselves and also the women around them.
Moreover, DIMO is currently running an impressive Women Leadership development program called “Powerfully You” where successful female senior leaders and their allies mentor the budding leaders and there is a component where they interact with corporate role models to draw inspiration and expand their network. These initiatives were introduced mainly to develop networking and form allies within the organisation and outside for the promising future of women leaders in the organisation. In addition, Dilrukshi has personally taken young professionals under her wing to be mentored from universities and professional bodies.
“Unconscious bias and stereotyping of the gender role are some of the biggest barriers to women empowerment. This affects education, employment and career development of women which ultimately results in financial dependency.”
The social norms derived from unconscious bias and the patriarchy forces women to suppress their biological and psychological needs and deprive them of the ability to realise their full potential. With the social role women play it is unfair to treat men and women equally and conditions should be brought in to create that equality through facilitating women to educate themselves, train their skills, attend work, own property, and manage their finances. On a positive note, many progressive organisations have equal opportunity and support inclusion by implementing equity in the workplace to provide a level playing field to women employees. Women leadership development programmes, other skill development seminars, implementing anti-harassment policies, forming employee resource groups, providing flexible work arrangements and childcare facilities are changes we are slowly seeing be implemented in progressive organisations.
As culture and society progress, we are seeing more and more allies supporting the cause of Women Empowerment and according to Dilrukshi any ally is additional empowerment. When asked what ways men could be allies and what is needed to engage and inspire male advocates she replies “The best way to engage men is to create sensitivity to the subject matter through facilitating men and women to work together. Gender sensitization training is a big step but more than that it should be made male responsibility to create gender parity. Those who have the decision-making power should be given the responsibility to create equity and inclusion and that is how women empowerment can be achieved.”