The key findings and recommendations of the research conducted by United Nation Women (UN Women) on gender equality in Sri Lanka were presented to the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus.
This took place at the Parliament on the 26th September 2025, during a meeting of Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus chaired by the Hon. Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj.
During this meeting, the representatives of the program expressed their views on the research, highlighting that the investigation focused primarily on areas such as women’s economic empowerment, women’s leadership in governance and decision-making, women, peace and security, and the prevention of violence against women and girls.
Accordingly, the representatives stated that it was identified that there has been a regression in gender equality in Sri Lanka in the global context. While Sri Lanka was ranked 18th among 115 countries in 2006, it dropped to 130th among 148 countries in 2025. However, it was also revealed that although some of the most influential individuals in the region are women, significant inequality was identified when compared to men.
Addressing the meeting the Chairperson of the caucus, asked that the final report related to the research be forwarded to the caucus since the information contained in this research is important. The Chairperson of the caucus further stated that in addition to allocating funds to the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs for the empowerment of women, she proposed that each ministry allocate funds within their scope to empower women in the preparation of the upcoming budget.
The Chairperson also said that she hopes to conduct a study on the challenges faced by women in this country from local government institutions to the presidency through the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) and the challenges they face after assuming office.
A discussion was also held with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), which aims to empower women in politics at the local government, provincial councils and national levels. The representatives of the foundation explained their role and said that the foundation could contribute to the empowerment of women in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the Chairperson asked that the proposals be presented to the caucus.
The Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, Hemali Weerasekara, Hon. Members of Parliament (Dr.) Kaushalya Ariyaratne, Oshani Umanga, Krishnan Kalaichelvi, Attorney-at-Law Thushari Jayasinghe, Attorney-at-Law Anushka Thilakaratne, A.M.M.M. Ratwatte, Attorney-at-Law Hasara Liyanage, Ambika Samivel were also present on this occasion.
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