MAS celebrates Fearless Women at...

MAS’ globally benchmarked women’s empowerment programme, Women Go Beyond (WGB) recognized a total of 154 inspirational women for their exceptional achievements at the Abhimani Empowered Women of the Year Awards 2019 held recently at the BMICH.

The Chief Guest at this, the 13th edition of the awards ceremony was the Director, Bureau for the Prevention of Abuse of Children and Women, Superintendent of Police Lanka Rajani Amarasena.

The biennial event celebrates women who have showcased unrivaled strength in the face of adversity to achieve excellence in both their professional and personal lives.

With women making up 70 percent of MAS’ 99,000 global workforce, winners were chosen from a list of 715 initial nominees from across 45 business units.

This year’s theme anchored on to the 2017 ceremony’s overarching theme of breaking boundaries and orthodoxy and focused on inspiring and guiding others to break the mold through their exemplary professional and personal advancement.

“What we originally launched as an inclusive women’s empowerment programme has today evolved into a global benchmark in ethical business practices,” commented Shanaaz Preena, Director of Women Go Beyond and Women’s Advocacy at MAS.

“We are nurturing fearless, selfreliant women who are driving Sri Lanka’s economy forward, while also championing their fundamental rights on a journey to achieve gender equality for future generations of women. We laud them, support them, encourage them and are proud to be part of their journey.”

This year, the ceremony awarded 46 empowered women from MAS facilities in Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the United States of America. Nine more female associates received special awards under four award categories; women who excelled in entrepreneurship (The Venturer), innovation and continuous improvement (The Game Changer), community service and sustainability (The Spirited) and excellence in sports (The Contender). The Frontier Challenge awarded twelvefemale Executives at MAS, with fourteen more women in senior leadership and managerial positions being recognized for their visionary contributions and guidance of the team.

With a benchmarked global repute for its ethical and sustainable working environment, MAS has put in tireless effort to highlight women’s empowerment as the foundation for economic stability in Sri Lanka since the launch of WGB in 2003.

The Abhimani Awards soon followed in 2004 as a company-wide platform to recognize and reward exceptional female employees, while also increasing their morale and motivation to continue their journey forward.