From a tomboy to a well known social entrepreneur, Dr. Sulochana Segera is the go-to person if you are interested in women empowerment. Sulochana is the proud founder and Chairperson of Women in Management, a private limited company dedicated to uniting Sri Lankan career and women entrepreneurs.
After being awarded many prestigious awards, such as Global CSR Excellence Award (2018), Women Super Achievement award (2017) and Leadership Excellence Award (2016), she will be awarded the Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 by the Steering and Selections committee of the Global Entrepreneur Council.
The question remains what made a normal human being to implement something like Women in Management.
Sulochana was not always a lady-like personality, she explained that she was a tomboy, was carefree and most importantly was honest. At one point she worked in an office and did her work to the fullest, however, she was not satisfied with what she did. She wanted to do something more with her life.
She kicked off her dream when the country had just recovered from a 30-year bloody civil war. Women empowerment was the talk of the town and it prompted Sulochana to try to understand the meaning underlying the expression that was so commonly used among civil society organizations.
Sri Lanka’s response to empowering women, as witnessed by Sulochana was not fitting in her eyes and in line with her expectations. Her effort to gather additional information from women’s organizations that professed to advocate women’s empowerment took her on a mission to Singapore and Malaysia.
However, her concept of women empowerment is surprising to many and brought attention. Her concept was to change the minds of grown women. According to her “if a mother is to change that would mean her second generation will be changed.”
This was indeed a very difficult and challenging decision that was accomplished, given the fact that most women’s organizations in Sri Lanka are totally dependent on local or international funding.
Sulochana believes Women In Management is unique in a way because what started as a grouping for women is now also open for men in the country. However, the company has stayed true to their objective of ensuring that Sri Lankan women will be equipped to step into national and international markets and workplaces as professionals and skilled employees.
With the launch of her company, Sulochana also embarked on a path that no other dared to chose. She initiated a project for single mothers in Sri Lanka. Sulochana's life was complicated after being a single mother, she was often confused as what to do and how to do it and with this experience, she initiated the project.
The aim of this project was to reach out to single mothers to help harness their potential through training and education. The project also extended its hands of expertise to empower these women by helping them to establish a start-up, such as a micro-enterprise.
However, in the beginning, the project was unappreciated by many in Sri Lanka, as they claimed that Sulochana was attempting to promote divorce and single parenting. In the end, Segara won the hearts of many not just in Colombo but all through Sri Lanka.
With this in mind, we at News 1
st congratulate her and wish her the best of luck for her future endeavours. And to all those young women out there with never-ending problems, this is What Dr. Sulochana Segera had to say;
“Every curry has a different taste and everyone is unique. You cannot use the same ingredients for the chicken and the beef and for the vegetable. Life gives you different types of curries in your life, so make sure you use the right essence and the right ingredients to make it tasty. Some are sweet, some are bitter, some are extremely hot, but yet enjoyable. That is life. And the taste is only for a shorter period, whether its a happiness, whether its a sadness. And then there is another dish.”