For The Love Of All Women

Interview with Sulochana Segera

Written by Devika Brendon
Published in Ceylon Today

Q: WIM is not a 'whim' but an excellent & very positive initiative. Can you outline how the idea came to you, and how you started it?

I was in a good professional position in a Multinational Company till the idea came to my mind that I should do something differently. I started my own HR Recruitment and Consultancy company. And I was doing very well - there was no reason to complain. But I saw that there were very few women looking for senior positions in recruitment; as well as markedly lesser numbers of women who participated in Training and Development programmes. While I was researching to find out why women are not being recruited for senior positions in the year 2009, I started to research the words 'women' and 'empowerment' and I was not happy with what I saw and read. For me personally empowerment is not charity. It is more about mentoring and leadership. I then started looking at the other Asian countries who had reputed women organizations and I was happy to follow and learn from Malaysia and Singapore about some of their practices.  So I decided to start Women in Management as a Private Organization where women can use the opportunity we provide to professionally collaborate, as a Networking Forum, as well as a Leadership Practising Organisation.

Q: What challenges have you faced as its founder, in developing your ideas into practical reality?

It is easier to follow someone or an established organisation, rather than creating your own idea and trying to get people to enter into it, especially women. When WIM was started in Sri Lanka, there were only a few women's organizations which were active, and they were only focused on charity. WIM was mainly targeting career women and it took a while for me to take the career women out of their 'comfort' zones. We as Sri Lankans have learned to ask: what is in this for me? Rather than: what I can do for the future of myself AND others? The challenge was making them realize that their leadership can inspire another woman and it is not just her own career which will benefit, but the economy of the entire country. Also I wanted to change the existing attitudes towards team working. There is a saying in our society that women cannot work together. It is commonly believed that women are best at working on their own rather than working in a team. But for increased development and success, I believed that women should learn to work in teams. So this was another challenge which I faced to make them work as teams rather than individuals. WIM started developing small groups, and invited WIM members to take part according to their own wills and capabilities. I found that young career women are very keen to work in teams - more so than mature career women. As an Asian country we often think only age brings maturity;  but my work with WIM has made me see that younger women today have access to information and concepts which enable them to develop maturity at earlier stages in their professional development: maturity of outlook can be developed at any age.

Q: What programmes do you offer to young women seeking professional development?

WIM is already a licensed trainer of International Finance Corporation Business Edge. Under their guidance and certification, we can offer more than 36 professional development programmes for all calibres of career women and men. Apart from that we bring local successful professionals together and we share their success and failure stories. This is one of the best programmes we offer, and it allows young career women to learn and find out how to develop their own path. We also assist them with finding suitable jobs. Career Counselling. Etc.

Q: How do you envision WIM developing in the near future?

I think WIM's future is in today’s work and the development of our young members. WIM has taken steps to find women in leadership and bring them to the attention of our corporate as well as our national leaders. WIM has developed so many corporate women to take senior positions and we believe they are thoroughly equipped to perform their duties to their companies as well as to the country. WIM is not only focused in Colombo; we have gone a long way to establish initiatives in rural regions too. Today women who were just daily earners have become entrepreneurs as well as small exporters. We were the first to give them management skills needed for the daily lives as well as for their businesses.

The future of WIM is to ensure Sri Lankan women are recognized as Professionals rather than just as women Globally.

Q: What in your education & upbringing do you believe has influenced you to take this path in life?

It all came from my Father and Mother. I was different from my brother and sister - I always had something to say - and too many questions were asked by me as a child! I remember once my teacher said I was the most disturbing child in the class because I asked so many questions! My father was a journalist, and he associated with all levels of people, from president to the coconut plucker. I always admired his ways of thinking and the way he respected people for who they are; and also my mother, who was a housewife but yet she was in her own way a true entrepreneur. I can say my mother earned more than my father as a housewife. My education background is in Human Resources Development. With all that l, as a single mother by age 27, with two kids, found that what I went through as a woman and a mother made me who I am today, and gave me the dedication and strength to create Women In Management.

Q: You have really highlighted the importance of mentoring & guidance in professional & personal development. May we know who has mentored you in your own life?

As a Catholic I would say 'God chose me'. As well as my father, in his own way, because with his contacts he would have got me a good job just when I finished school, but he was the first to ignore me for finding jobs! It gave me a great strength - to find my own career path as well as facing job interviews, etc. When I was young we knew nothing about mentors, nor about women and leadership. We learned everything after getting in to a job. Most of our generation is self-taught, and it is one of the reasons I think our generation has become mentors to the younger generation today.

Q: The mentoring sessions I attended were clearly, vibrantly & energetically presented. The presenters were interesting and diverse. In choosing presenters for WIM's forums and workshops, what qualities do you look for? What do you think is more important in a professional woman's development? Qualifications? Training? Or her attitude to life?

I think first it should be the willingness to accept a challenge. Then the attitude, followed by qualifications. Yet training is a must b’cos most qualifications are just exams and do not emphasise the practical. When a person is able to put into practice what they have learned in theory, that is what encourages them to move forward.

Q: What limitations in the corporate environment do the WIM programmes address?

Many companies are inflexible in their attitudes to women professionals, and do not recognise the multi-faceted roles professional women are required to perform. Old-fashioned traditional management thinking identified women as 'Costs' rather than 'Assets' to their company, because women in their late 20s and 30s require maternity leave to have children, and construct their careers simultaneously with raising their families.

It is also unfortunate, although understandable, that meeting these competing demands is tiring, and as a result, so many professional women choose to opt out of the professional arena, often at the prime stage of their careers, as they feel unsupported by their companies, who do not offer flexi-hours or recognise the real difficulties of the situations that their talented 'multi-tasking' female employees and executives are facing. This needs to change. A responsible company will only benefit from adapting its structures to support productive and motivated personnel.

Q: What does the term 'soft skills' mean to you, and to your organisation?

Soft Skills means having the right attitude to do the right job at the right time. Our organization believes in soft skills but it does not mean just courses. It means practising  your inner skills with your abilities. Eg: After attending a leadership soft skills course you cannot expect the participant to take the leadership of a department unless she has that in herself. Soft skills help people to understand their own specific strengths. They increase a person's adaptability.

Q: How will you measure the success of WIM & its initiatives in the years to come? What lasting contributions would you like to have made to Sri Lankan society through this organisation?

WIM want to promote more women to decision making levels. i.e. corporates as well as parliament. WIM need more women leaders to join hands with WIM but quality is more important than quantity. WIM personally believes Sri Lankan women should come out from their 'comfort' zones and stand up for themselves, rather than asking organizations to stand up for them. Also we believe by 2020 the Sri Lankan Parliament will have more Professional women leaders representing the country and they will work towards women and family development, changing the present attitudes towards women politicians.

"Taj Mahal was built for the love of one woman. Women in Management was built for the love of all the women."

“A Strong Man will Empower his Woman”