Dhashma wins Gold for Supply Chain and Logistics
WILAT Sri
Lanka Immediate Chairperson and
Port of Colombo
South Asia Gateway
Terminals (SAGT) Commercial and Marketing
Manager Dhashma Karunaratne was awarded the Gold award for Supply
Chain and Logistics, at the recently held WIM Top 50
Professional and Career Women Awards 2019.
Supported by International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group and Australian Aid, WIM Top 50 awards is the flagship event of Women In Management (WIM), which was founded by Dr. Sulochana Segera, who’s passion for women empowerment continues to propel the women’s agenda in the nation.
The award ceremony was held for the ninth occasion recently, Shangri-la Colombo.
WILAT Sri Lanka Founding Chairperson and current Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Sri Lanka Chairperson Gayani de Alwis noted that WILAT Sri Lanka has been a benchmark for WILAT global, which has a membership of 1,800 members across 20 countries.
She commended the contribution of Dhashma towards WILAT and further stated that it’s noteworthy that four WILAT office bearers have been awarded with WIM Top 50 award in the past three years, which is a testimony of the commitment of WILAT towards women empowerment in Sri Lanka.
Speaking of this achievement Dhashma said she dedicates this award to all females and males, who relentlessly work towards bridging the gender gap in highly male-dominated industries, such as ports and shipping.
“In any industry, it is imperative that there’s a proportionate representation of the country’s population. Here in ports, the women representation is a mere three percent. It’s imperative that we strike a balance, after all women empowerment is not only a moral obligation it also makes very good economic sense,” she added.
Dhashma believes that both men and women have unique talents and traits, which when pooled together result in a surge in innovation and creativity and assures the sustenance of a country and an economy, a community and an entity.
Dhashma has been recognised for her visionary leadership in WILAT as Immediate Past Chairperson and was awarded the most inspiring woman in ports and shipping by Singapore-based, Global Ports Forum this year.
Her aspirations for women empowerment and youth development have been showcased by many global entities such as DP World, AP Moller Group and have spoken at leaders’ conclaves such as SAARC. She is currently serving in a high-level advocacy group formed by IFC named Sheworks.
WILAT is the women’s forum of CILT and is part of an ever-expanding global network. WILAT is considered as a live wire of the institute. The main objective of WILAT is to promote and encourage the art and science of logistics and transport among women. Currently, WILAT is present in 20 countries with over 1,800 members in the global network, which is expanding rapidly.