Dr. Sulochana Segera on Breaking the Bias

We went on a journey this month, speaking with some of Sri Lanka’s prominent female figures across various industries. Founder of Women In Management (WIM) Dr. Sulochana Segera has faced a lot of challenges in her journey to building her own business, and these hardships have motivated her to help others.

Q: You’ve dedicated a large part of your life to empowering women. What motivated you to take a stand for change?

A: I never felt discriminated against because of my gender until I became a single mother. The way people would look at me differently once learning that I’m divorced and the number of unnecessary phone calls I got made me feel rejected and uncomfortable. It felt like society thought being a young, single woman gave everyone else a free pass.

Another reason I started WIM was because during my time as a headhunter, I noticed that companies preferred giving senior positions to men. I wanted to get more women into senior and leadership positions.

Q: As the Founder and Chairperson of Women In Management, could you give us an introduction to WIM and its goals?

A: WIM is an organisation run by women for women of all walks of life. Our objective is to open opportunities for women according to their goals; not ours. We offer many services; corporate career guidance, counselling, helping find markets for businesses, featuring women to help them gain exposure, and even just lending a listening ear.

Q: What are some of your biggest challenges and greatest achievements in your journey with WIM?

A: It’s been 15 years since our beginning and finding sponsors was our first hurdle. Another was getting people to believe this is an all-women organisation where we’re working together to support other women. There’s a myth that women can’t work together. That’s something I wanted to break because it’s not just women, even men have a tough time working together. The same can be said for friends and family.

Another is trying not to copy another women’s organisation. We’ve done our best to avoid copying other women’s organisations and come up with original projects and policies. Some of these might fail, but that’s okay. Failure is part of success.

As for achievements, I think the fact that my passion has become a national vision and soon will become global is a big one. But my greatest achievement is overcoming challenges and being able to grow from them.

Q: The theme for International Women’s Day this year is ‘Breaking the Bias.’ What does breaking the bias mean to you?

A: For me, breaking the bias needs to start internally. We need to unlearn our biases and the stereotypes we’re taught. I think in Sri Lanka, the bias we see is different from what we see globally. What we have comes mostly from stereotypes. We have stereotypes about jobs, behaviour and so much more. We need to unlearn these.

I must say that women’s empowerment does not mean having a rivalry with men. There are many misconceptions about gender. I think people have taken things the wrong way and are creating hate instead.

Q: Could you share some of your experiences with unconscious or conscious bias in workplaces or in general?

A: It’s something that happens more often than you think. We ask women if they’re married and if not why, but we rarely ask men this. We ask prominent women how their partners and families are helping them achieve their goals, but we don’t ask that from men. Women talk about how their husbands and families gave them permission to work or start a business. How often have you heard a man say his wife gave him permission to build a career for himself?

Women don’t need their husbands’ or families’ permission to do something for themselves. What they need are their husbands’ and families’ blessing and support. You need to start giving yourself permission to go forward.

Q: Breaking the bias includes moving away from stigmas and making a cultural reset. What are some suggestions you have to make more inclusive spaces?

A: I think we have to see leadership positions as deliveries and results, not as a gender or a position. When you have a woman on your board, she’s not there as a woman. She’s there as a board member. Leadership and jobs require skills, and skills don’t depend on gender. Instead of looking at gender, look at what skills and perspectives they bring.

Q: What advice would you like to give other women who are working through their storms towards their own success?

A: Know your worth. Accept yourself even when others reject you. Continue changing for the better. I struggled with accepting myself for a long time after my divorce. People treated me differently for being a divorced, single mother. I had to learn to accept myself and tune out their judgemental voices and eyes.

Q: You were recently recognised in Ladies In Business Magazine Global as a SHE Awards Achiever for 2022. Congratulations! Would you like to share your thoughts on the award and recognition you’re receiving for your efforts?

A: I’m happy and feel honoured to be recognised for my hard work, but it’s not really about the award or recognition. Being featured in their magazine has helped me spread a message – a message about how Sri Lanka has a lot to offer. It’s about letting the world know that Sri Lankan women will change Sri Lanka for the better.

Q: Finally, could you share some of your and WIM’s future plans with us and our curious readers?

A: One of my personal goals is to start a free kitchen. I’ve been helping feed around a hundred people on a daily basis by providing them free lunch packets. With the economic crisis, the amount of people who are struggling has only increased. By starting a free kitchen, I hope to at least help them eat one meal a day.

This June, we’ll be holding WIM Global Awards, which is currently our most important plan. We also plan to continue our work and feature Sri Lankan women on a global level. We also want to create a country agenda for women’s organisations in Sri Lanka. We all work to empower women but our efforts are scattered. We hope to communicate with other organisations and collaborate. Since we’re all moving towards empowering women and gender equality, it makes more sense to work together to reach common goals.

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