By Dr. Sarath Obeysekera

For decades, Sri Lanka has proudly spoken about women’s empowerment. Every government has launched programmes under this banner, and millions of rupees have been spent on training and awareness. Yet one fundamental question remains:

Have we truly empowered women, or have we merely confined them to traditional occupations under a new label?

Most vocational programmes offered to women still revolve around cake making, beauty culture, tailoring, housekeeping, food processing, childcare and elderly care. While these are respectable professions, they represent only a narrow segment of the opportunities available to women in today’s industrial world.

If Sri Lanka is serious about becoming an industrialised nation and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), women must become part of the country’s skilled technical workforce.

Looking Beyond Traditional Boundaries

Many countries have already demonstrated that women can excel in industries once considered exclusively male.

In Kenya, vocational institutions, supported by international organisations and industry, deliberately recruit young women into industrial welding and fabrication. These programmes have shown that, given the opportunity and proper training, women perform exceptionally well in precision engineering and industrial manufacturing. (International Labour Organization)

The question is simple:

If Kenyan women can become certified welders, why not Sri Lankan women?

The Industries Waiting for Skilled Women

Sri Lanka is preparing for major investments in shipbuilding, ship repair, offshore engineering, renewable energy, LNG, petroleum, steel fabrication and advanced manufacturing.

These industries require thousands of skilled personnel, including:

● Welding and fabrication

● Pipe fitting

● Mechanical fitting

● CNC machining

● Electrical installation

● Instrumentation

● Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)

● Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC)

● Welding inspection

● CAD drafting

● Robotics-assisted manufacturing

● Industrial safety and HSE

● Offshore operations

There is absolutely no technical reason why women cannot excel in these professions.

Women Often Possess Natural Advantages

Industrial employers increasingly recognise that many women possess qualities highly valued in manufacturing:

● Excellent attention to detail

● Patience during repetitive precision work

● Strong quality consciousness

● Better documentation practices

● High levels of discipline

● Lower accident rates in many industrial environments

● Commitment to following procedures and standards

These characteristics are particularly valuable in welding inspection, QA/QC, laboratory testing, precision fabrication and electronics assembly.

Modern Welding Is Not What It Used to Be

Many people still imagine welding as standing in the scorching sun carrying heavy steel sections.

That stereotype is decades out of date.

Today’s fabrication workshops use:

● Welding manipulators

● Positioners

● Robotic welding systems

● Automated cutting machines

● CNC equipment

● Laser measuring devices

● Digital inspection equipment

● Welding simulators for training

Much of the work depends more on technical competence than physical strength.

Women around the world are successfully working in aerospace, automotive manufacturing, shipbuilding, offshore engineering and oil and gas fabrication.

Sri Lanka should not be left behind.

A Missed Economic Opportunity

Thousands of skilled welders and fabricators from Sri Lanka leave annually for the Middle East, South Korea, Romania, Israel and other countries because of strong international demand.

If women were trained in these same disciplines, they too could access well-paid international careers or support the development of Sri Lanka’s own industries.

Higher household incomes, greater foreign remittances and stronger industrial productivity would follow.

What Should Be Done?

Sri Lanka needs a national policy to encourage women to enter technical trades by:

● Offering scholarships specifically for women in engineering trades.

● Establishing women-friendly welding and fabrication workshops.

● Providing modern personal protective equipment designed for women.

● Creating mentorship programmes with successful female engineers and technicians.

● Encouraging industries to recruit more women into technical roles.

● Promoting success stories through schools and the media.

● Including offshore engineering, shipbuilding and advanced manufacturing in vocational training programmes.

Empowerment Means Opportunity

Women’s empowerment should not be measured by the number of seminars conducted or certificates issued.

It should be measured by how many women become:

● Certified welders

● Welding inspectors

● QA/QC engineers

● Pipe fitters

● Offshore technicians

● Marine engineers

● Fabrication supervisors

● Industrial entrepreneurs

That is genuine economic empowerment.

Sri Lanka possesses one of the highest literacy rates in South Asia and produces thousands of capable young women every year. What many of them lack is not ability—but opportunity.

The future of Sri Lanka’s industrialisation cannot depend solely on half of its workforce.

If we truly believe in equality, then our daughters should be seen not only in kitchens, hospitals and offices, but also in shipyards, fabrication workshops, offshore platforms, engineering laboratories and quality control departments.

Only then can we honestly say that Sri Lanka has moved beyond talking about women’s empowerment and has finally begun to practise it.

Regards

Dr Sarath ObeysekeraBeyond Cakes and Caregiving and garment industry It Is Time to Redefine Women’s Empowerment in Sri Lanka

By Dr. Sarath Obeysekera

For decades, Sri Lanka has proudly spoken about women’s empowerment. Every government has launched programmes under this banner, and millions of rupees have been spent on training and awareness. Yet one fundamental question remains:

Have we truly empowered women, or have we merely confined them to traditional occupations under a new label?

Most vocational programmes offered to women still revolve around cake making, beauty culture, tailoring, housekeeping, food processing, childcare and elderly care. While these are respectable professions, they represent only a narrow segment of the opportunities available to women in today’s industrial world.

If Sri Lanka is serious about becoming an industrialised nation and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), women must become part of the country’s skilled technical workforce.

Looking Beyond Traditional Boundaries

Many countries have already demonstrated that women can excel in industries once considered exclusively male.

In Kenya, vocational institutions, supported by international organisations and industry, deliberately recruit young women into industrial welding and fabrication. These programmes have shown that, given the opportunity and proper training, women perform exceptionally well in precision engineering and industrial manufacturing. (International Labour Organization)

The question is simple:

If Kenyan women can become certified welders, why not Sri Lankan women?

The Industries Waiting for Skilled Women

Sri Lanka is preparing for major investments in shipbuilding, ship repair, offshore engineering, renewable energy, LNG, petroleum, steel fabrication and advanced manufacturing.

These industries require thousands of skilled personnel, including:

● Welding and fabrication

● Pipe fitting

● Mechanical fitting

● CNC machining

● Electrical installation

● Instrumentation

● Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)

● Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC)

● Welding inspection

● CAD drafting

● Robotics-assisted manufacturing

● Industrial safety and HSE

● Offshore operations

There is absolutely no technical reason why women cannot excel in these professions.

Women Often Possess Natural Advantages

Industrial employers increasingly recognise that many women possess qualities highly valued in manufacturing:

● Excellent attention to detail

● Patience during repetitive precision work

● Strong quality consciousness

● Better documentation practices

● High levels of discipline

● Lower accident rates in many industrial environments

● Commitment to following procedures and standards

These characteristics are particularly valuable in welding inspection, QA/QC, laboratory testing, precision fabrication and electronics assembly.

Modern Welding Is Not What It Used to Be

Many people still imagine welding as standing in the scorching sun carrying heavy steel sections.

That stereotype is decades out of date.

Today’s fabrication workshops use:

● Welding manipulators

● Positioners

● Robotic welding systems

● Automated cutting machines

● CNC equipment

● Laser measuring devices

● Digital inspection equipment

● Welding simulators for training

Much of the work depends more on technical competence than physical strength.

Women around the world are successfully working in aerospace, automotive manufacturing, shipbuilding, offshore engineering and oil and gas fabrication.

Sri Lanka should not be left behind.

A Missed Economic Opportunity

Thousands of skilled welders and fabricators from Sri Lanka leave annually for the Middle East, South Korea, Romania, Israel and other countries because of strong international demand.

If women were trained in these same disciplines, they too could access well-paid international careers or support the development of Sri Lanka’s own industries.

Higher household incomes, greater foreign remittances and stronger industrial productivity would follow.

What Should Be Done?

Sri Lanka needs a national policy to encourage women to enter technical trades by:

● Offering scholarships specifically for women in engineering trades.

● Establishing women-friendly welding and fabrication workshops.

● Providing modern personal protective equipment designed for women.

● Creating mentorship programmes with successful female engineers and technicians.

● Encouraging industries to recruit more women into technical roles.

● Promoting success stories through schools and the media.

● Including offshore engineering, shipbuilding and advanced manufacturing in vocational training programmes.

Empowerment Means Opportunity

Women’s empowerment should not be measured by the number of seminars conducted or certificates issued.

It should be measured by how many women become:

● Certified welders

● Welding inspectors

● QA/QC engineers

● Pipe fitters

● Offshore technicians

● Marine engineers

● Fabrication supervisors

● Industrial entrepreneurs

That is genuine economic empowerment.

Sri Lanka possesses one of the highest literacy rates in South Asia and produces thousands of capable young women every year. What many of them lack is not ability—but opportunity.

The future of Sri Lanka’s industrialisation cannot depend solely on half of its workforce.

If we truly believe in equality, then our daughters should be seen not only in kitchens, hospitals and offices, but also in shipyards, fabrication workshops, offshore platforms, engineering laboratories and quality control departments.

Only then can we honestly say that Sri Lanka has moved beyond talking about women’s empowerment and has finally begun to practise it.

Regards

Dr Sarath Obeysekera