Dr. Sulochana Segera left a promising career to launch a successful consultancy firm, but soon realized the corporate world was heavily biased toward men. Through her work as a headhunter, she noticed that hiring practices discriminated against young or married women with children. Although her training programs were well-attended, they were dominated by men, with women participating only if sponsored. Witnessing this, Sulochana began researching women’s status in Sri Lanka, especially in the post-war context, and found that the country’s efforts towards women’s empowerment were inadequate.
Frustrated by the gap between rhetoric and reality, Sulochana sought to understand best practices in women’s empowerment from Singapore and Malaysia. Armed with new ideas, she co-founded Women in Management (WIM) with Nilam Samsudeen in 2010. Unlike other organizations that depended on external funding, WIM was a self-reliant, membership-driven institution that aimed to mentor and support women in their professional journeys.
WIM began by enlisting top female professionals to mentor middle-management women and expanded its reach to rural areas, empowering over 10,000 women across Sri Lanka. While initially focused on women, WIM opened its programs to men as well, staying committed to equipping Sri Lankan women to enter national and international markets and workplaces. Today, WIM has grown to over 2,160 members globally, serving as a model for women's empowerment through self-reliance and mentorship.
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