Airtel, a global telecommunication services provider and one of Sri Lanka’s most sought-after employers, continuously strives to enhance female participation within the telco’s workforce.
Recognised as one of the ‘Top 10 Best Workplaces for Women’ in 2019 by Great Place to Work, and with over 63% of the female workforce in managerial positions, Airtel has consistently offered an equal platform for all employees to work, train and benefit from all the telco’s core operations.
Airtel believes in creating a level playing field as women too have the potential to succeed beyond their aspirations and other milestones, if they are provided with the same opportunities available to their male counterparts. Airtel is also a firm believer in the power of technology and tech-related employment to create opportunities and ultimately empower a diverse and differently-abled workplace.
As Airtel continues to reinforce its commitment to establish the ‘new normal’ through an inclusive and diverse workplace, the telco has been able to serve an increasingly diverse customer base. A gender-diverse workforce allows the company to attract and retain talented men and women who are at the centre of the telco’s global drive to not leave anyone behind, but to create a workplace that is equal and beneficial for all.
Airtel’s emphasis on diversity flows down into every level of the organisation. A great example of this is Ms. Chamila Silva, who serves as Assistant Manager, Intelligent Network and is one of only four female intelligence networking engineers in the whole of Sri Lanka. Her job requires her to be on call around the clock in order to ensure that the telco’s pre-paid payment systems are always running seamlessly. As the vast majority of Airtel Lanka’s customers are youth on pre-paid connections, Ms. Chamila’s work is critical to the company’s overall performance.
Airtel Lanka Trainee Executive, Gayani Batawalaarachchi, visually impaired, was introduced to Airtel as a result of the telco’s partnership with the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC), to offer on-the-job training opportunities for differently-abled persons. As her training in ICT with the EFC helped open up more employment opportunities, Gayani hopes to use her time at Airtel to learn more about technology and eventually pursue further educational qualifications in the field.
Having been part of the telco’s operations for over a decade, Airtel Lanka’s Chief Service Officer Saumya Narain is a testament to the telco’s efforts in being fair, unbiased and equally rewarding to all its workforce. Ms. Saumya manages teams that work on design innovation, process automation and digital transformation at Airtel. In her own words, the future is undoubtedly digital, and there is plenty of room for women to succeed in the telecommunications sphere. Especially with a company like Airtel that gives women the space and support they need to succeed both personally and professionally, Ms. Saumya believes that the future for women in tech and design is strong.
