Barriers to workplace economic mobility of women in Sri Lanka; Insights from World Bank gender statistics

Abstract

Background: Women as an indispensable part of the global economy record only a quarter or less of labor participation in South Asian region to the labor market. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the barriers impacting the economic mobility of women in Sri Lanka. Method: This study employed the quantitative research approach based on secondary data from World Bank Gender Statistics (1971-2023). Descriptive and trend analysis were used to determine the gender gap through the ratio of women to men in the labor force as well as a detailed analysis of women in labor force participation. Results: It was found that there is a persistent gender gap as the ratio of women to men labor force participation declined from 53.2% in 1991 to 44.6% in 2023, while the female labor force participation rate fluctuated between 32% and 35%. Key findings from the secondary qualitative data revealed that women in Sri Lanka face systemic barriers such as restrictions on night work, industrial employment, unequal remuneration, disparities in pension benefits at retirement age, and inability to administrate 100 %t of maternity leave by the government. Notably, Sri Lankan laws lacked gender-based credit access and employment discrimination provisions. Especially, there was no law on sexual harassment in employment and no criminal penalties or civil remedies existed for sexual harassment in employment until the introduction of section 345 of the Penal Code (Amendment) Act No.22 of 1995 against sexual harassment. Conclusions: The study underscores the need for gender-inclusive policies and legal reforms from time to time for both the corporate and government sectors to address institutional barriers to enhance women's economic mobility in Sri Lanka.