Instead of simply laying off women, the hotels in Sri Lanka are taking steps to improve their productivity. Most women in Sri Lanka do not have the opportunity to work in the tourism industry, earn money, and build a career.
One such woman is Jio Vanti Adikari, who after dropping out of accounting studies decided to pursue a three-month course in hospitality management. Since then, she has worked in various hotels for more than twenty years of her career.
Currently, she is 42 years old and manages the first hotel in Sri Lanka, where exclusively women hold executive positions. This is an attempt to soften gender inequality in the tourism sector, dominated by men, which is important for reviving the country’s economy after severe crises.
Adikari, leading operations at the "Amba Yalu" hotel located in the district of Dambulla, which is considered a gateway to many tourist attractions in Sri Lanka, stated: "Here women can realize their potential. Women no longer have to sit on the sidelines. In a country where 52% of the population out of 22 million people are women, they only make up about 10% of the workforce in the hospitality sector, where 200 thousand people work."