The John Keells Foundation empowers women to achieve gender equality – The Island

International Women’s Day, March 8, is a day to reflect on the extraordinary achievements of women, who drive change while contributing to the social, economic and cultural progress of a country.

The John Keells Foundation (JKF) – the corporate responsibility entity of the John Keells Group – is dedicated to creating the empowerment of women through its many initiatives in 6 priority areas which are aligned with the the group’s CSR vision of “empowering the nation for tomorrow”. While JKF’s varied programs target several underserved communities, women’s empowerment is a cross-cutting theme.

Speaking at a women’s leadership forum titled “BreakTheBias for a Better Tomorrow” hosted by the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry on March 15, 2022, Carmeline Jayasuriya, Head of CSR and JKF, said stated: “When women are empowered to be secure, dependent themselves and financially stable, the resulting socio-economic impact not only benefits themselves, but also their children, family and community in As such, our programs focus on promoting skills, livelihoods and market opportunities for women, as well as building stronger ecosystems to tackle deep-rooted issues. and inhibitors such as gender stereotyping, discrimination and harassment.

Under JKF’s livelihood development programs such as John Keells Praja Shakthi, many micro, small and medium enterprises – especially women-led enterprises – are supported to improve access to finance, value chains value and markets.

Under the Foundation’s Education pillar, supporting women to pursue higher education and equipping them with the skills to enhance their careers has been a key objective.

The “John Keells English Scholarship Program” aims to improve English communication, ICT and soft skills of selected young people, directly benefiting over 17,700, the majority of whom are women.

JKF’s Skill into Progress (SKIP) program is a supply chain management initiative aimed at empowering selected John Keells Group suppliers to compete in a pandemic-stricken economy.

In health, JKF combats gender-based violence (GBV) and child abuse through awareness raising while strengthening enabling social structures. The “WAVE Project” (Working against violence through education) is a long-term project that encompasses the awareness and training of Group employees, police officers, lawyers, teachers and the public.

As JKF strives to improve the lives of disadvantaged communities across the country as part of its “Empowering the Nation for Tomorrow” vision, women’s empowerment will continue to be an integral and cross-cutting theme of development initiatives. businesses to empower women with skills, knowledge, and opportunities to be socially and economically independent.

Livelihood development, education and health are three of the six focus areas of the John Keells Foundation – the CSR unit of John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH), a Colombo Stock Exchange-listed company that operates more than 70 companies in 7 diverse industrial sectors. With a history of over 150 years, John Keells Group has been ranked as Sri Lanka’s ‘most respected entity’ for the past 16 years by LMD magazine. While a full member of the World Economic Forum and a participant in the United Nations Global Compact, JKH implements its CSR vision of “empowering the nation for tomorrow” through the John Keells Foundation and the social entrepreneurship initiative, “Plasticcycle”, which is a catalyst in significantly reducing plastic pollution in Sri Lanka.