The Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC has been recognised for its commitment to empowering women at the ‘Top 50 Professional and Career Women Awards’ held recently in Colombo.
The Bank was presented the award for the ‘Best CSR project on women empowerment by an organisation’ at the 10th edition of the ‘Top 50 Professional and Career Women Awards, Sri Lanka and the Maldives’, an event organised by Women in Management (WIM), a leading organisation in Sri Lanka dedicated to the success of women, together with International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group and the Government of Australia via Australia Aid.
This is the first time that Commercial Bank has been chosen for this particular award. The award was in respect of Bank’s continuous efforts to empower women entrepreneurs by going beyond its regular business operations to improve their knowledge and enhance their financial literacy through a series of workshops exclusively for women. Notably, the Bank funded and conducted two entrepreneur education programmes in Polonnaruwa in 2020 in collaboration with WIM. Each of these events saw the participation of over 100 female entrepreneurs.
Commercial Bank has also taken a strategic initiative by partnering with IFC to carry out a ‘Gender Advisory Project’ to further improve its focus on the needs of female customers. This is positioned as a 360-degree approach to focus on both financial and non-financial aspects, including training to further improve the quality of the interaction between bank staff and this customer segment. The Bank is committed to women empowerment at the workplace with six women in its corporate management team and many more holding senior and key positions in the Bank.
Additionally, the Bank hosted its first ‘Wom Entrepreneur’ event titled ‘Vision towards sustainable business,’ in 2019in partnership with the Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce (WCIC) exclusively for women entrepreneurs engaged in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The Bank also conducted a webinar in 2020 in collaboration with the same organisation to help female entrepreneurs adapt to the requisites of the ‘new normal’ after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Launched in March 2011 by WIM, ‘The Top 50 Professional and Career Women Awards’ celebrates the achievements of remarkable women who inspire those around them - either through the media, through achievements in their careers, businesses, and everyday lives. The annual event is an uplifting awards ceremony where the individual and corporate achievements of trailblazing women leaders in Sri Lanka are celebrated.
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