From Representation to Results: How Janashakthi Life Enables Women to Lead and Excel

Representation That Extends into Influence

Janashakthi Life has a workforce of 456 employees, of whom 198 are women. Women also account for 33.3% of employees at Manager-and-Above level, with 17 women among 51 employees at these levels.

Female representation on the Board currently stands at 18%, with two women among 11 directors. While Board and senior-management representation remain areas in which the organisation has the opportunity to make further progress, women already hold several positions that have a significant influence on the direction and performance of the business.

These include the roles of Chairperson, Chief Business Officer, Chief Life Operations Officer, AGM - Life Operations and the Specified Officer to the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka.

The organisation's approach is therefore not simply about increasing the number of women employed. It is also about creating pathways for women to enter positions where they can contribute to important decisions, influence business direction and lead key areas of the organisation.

Women Consistently Emerging Among Top Performers

One of the clearest indications of progress is the performance achieved by women across the business, particularly in sales - a highly competitive and traditionally male-dominated area of the insurance industry.

Women consistently feature among Janashakthi Life's highest-performing employees. Recent recognition includes women receiving the Chairperson's Award in 2023 and 2024, as well as the Group Sales Manager of the Year and Regional Sales Manager of the Year awards in 2025.

Female employees have also gained external recognition at the SLIM National Sales Awards across the Sales Executive - Life Insurance and Frontliner categories. Their achievements demonstrate that women are competing and succeeding against demanding national and industry standards.

Women also account for 44% of Janashakthi Life's 72 Million Dollar Round Table qualifiers, representing approximately 32 female professionals.

MDRT is globally recognised as a leading benchmark of excellence in life insurance and financial services. Achieving MDRT qualification requires sustained sales performance, professional knowledge, strong customer relationships and a high level of discipline. The strong representation of women among Janashakthi Life's MDRT qualifiers is therefore particularly meaningful.

Women's share of MDRT qualifiers is slightly higher than their representation in the overall workforce. Together with their consistent success at the Annual Awards and SLIM National Sales Awards, this demonstrates that women are not merely participating in the organisation - they are repeatedly emerging among its most outstanding performers.

Their achievements also show that an inclusive and supportive environment can strengthen the conditions in which women perform at their best and deliver measurable business results.

Building a Sustainable Female Leadership Pipeline

Women's advancement at Janashakthi Life begins with merit-based employment practices. Recruitment decisions are based on the skills, competencies, qualifications and potential required for each position, without discrimination based on gender, marital status or parental status.

Women have equal access to professional-development programmes, leadership opportunities, overseas study opportunities, international exposure, cross-functional projects and strategic assignments.

The organisation also creates stretch opportunities through which women can take on responsibilities beyond their immediate functional roles. These assignments provide exposure to different areas of the business, strengthen organisational visibility and allow women to demonstrate their readiness for more complex responsibilities.

This approach is supported by structured leadership-development programmes designed to build confidence and leadership capability at different career stages. Senior women leaders also provide mentoring to selected female employees.

One-to-one mentoring by senior leaders, including Group Chief Human Resources Officer - Wasanthi Stephen, focuses on leadership readiness, confidence, career direction and succession potential. Access to experienced senior leaders allows aspiring women to gain practical insight, discuss challenges openly and better understand the expectations associated with leadership roles.

The intention is to create a managed pipeline of female talent by connecting learning with mentoring, exposure, stretch opportunities and succession planning. Women's advancement is therefore supported through deliberate development opportunities rather than expected to occur informally or by chance.

Supporting Career Continuity

Women may experience career disruption due to parenting, caregiving responsibilities, higher education or other personal circumstances. This is often not due to a lack of capability or ambition, but because traditional workplace structures may not provide the flexibility required to manage these responsibilities alongside a career.

Janashakthi Life has introduced several measures to support women in maintaining their professional continuity. These include enhanced maternity benefits, phased return-to-work arrangements, flexible working hours, work-from-home options based on role requirements and supervisor support for employees returning to work.

The organisation provides more than 144 days of maternity leave, including 84 statutory days and an additional 60 fully paid days. Employees may also request up to three additional months of unpaid leave when further time is required. Fourteen days of fully paid paternity leave are also provided, recognising that parenting responsibilities should be shared.

These practices have contributed to a 90% post-maternity return rate, demonstrating that the great majority of mothers taking maternity leave return to Janashakthi Life and continue their careers with the organisation.

Employees may also obtain career sabbaticals of between one and three months for higher studies, family requirements and other exceptional circumstances. These arrangements provide employees with alternatives to permanently leaving the organisation when they face temporary personal or family demands.

By providing flexibility and support, Janashakthi Life seeks to reduce avoidable career disruption and enable employees to continue progressing professionally.

Creating an Environment for Working Parents

Janashakthi Life's support extends beyond maternity into the broader working-parent journey.

The organisation has partnered with Parenthood Global to provide parental coaching, awareness programmes, practical parenting guidance and knowledge-sharing sessions. These initiatives support the emotional, mental and social wellbeing of employees and their families while helping working parents manage the demands of their careers and home lives.

Janashakthi Life has 241 parent employees, comprising 85 mothers and 156 fathers. Supporting both women and men as parents helps reinforce the understanding that caregiving is a shared responsibility.

Parents are also represented within welfare and grievance mechanisms, allowing their experiences and concerns to be considered when workplace practices are reviewed.

By extending support beyond maternity leave, the organisation seeks to help women maintain their professional momentum throughout the longer parenting journey rather than concentrating support only on the first few months after childbirth.

A Year-Round Women Empowerment Agenda

Janashakthi Life's Women Empowerment Agenda addresses the professional, personal and wellbeing needs of women throughout their careers.

It includes women's leadership-development programmes, the Mom's Coaching Programme, mentoring by senior female leaders, cross-functional stretch assignments, engagement and recognition initiatives, women-focused health programmes and Women's Day activities.

The Mom's Coaching Programme provides practical coaching, confidence-building and peer learning for working mothers. It recognises the pressures women may experience when balancing parenting responsibilities with their career aspirations and provides an environment in which those experiences can be discussed and addressed.

The organisation also conducts broader employee platforms such as The Ark - Learn, Share, Grow. Although The Ark is open to all employees and is not a women-specific initiative, it gives employees, including women, an additional opportunity to share knowledge, showcase capabilities and connect beyond their formal roles.

The defining strength of the Women Empowerment Agenda is its continuity. Women's empowerment is not limited to International Women's Day or a single annual event. Support, development and engagement take place throughout the year and respond to different career requirements.

Supporting the Whole Person

Janashakthi Life approaches women's wellbeing from a broad perspective that includes physical, mental, emotional and reproductive health.

The organisation conducts awareness programmes on women-specific health concerns such as PCOS and reproductive health, together with mental-health education, professional counselling, mindfulness, stress-management and resilience-building activities.

Its year-round wellbeing calendar also includes physical fitness initiatives, creative-expression workshops, relaxation sessions and monthly pickleball activities.

Addressing subjects such as reproductive health and PCOS in a professional workplace setting helps reduce stigma and gives women access to credible information and support. Physical and engagement activities also create informal opportunities for employees from different functions and levels to build relationships and strengthen internal networks.

These programmes are not intended simply as recreational activities. They reflect an understanding that sustained performance and career continuity are closely connected to physical health, psychological safety, personal resilience and a sense of belonging.

Policies That Provide Safety, Fairness and Dignity

Janashakthi Life's women-focused initiatives are supported by formal policies and governance mechanisms.

These include the Code of Conduct, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion principles, merit-based recruitment, zero tolerance for harassment, confidential grievance handling, medical and maternity cover, annual salary reviews and equal access to development opportunities.

A genuinely women-friendly workplace must allow employees to raise concerns without fear of retaliation and provide confidence that those concerns will be handled fairly and confidentially.

Formal policies provide the necessary foundation, while leadership, development, wellbeing and engagement programmes translate those commitments into the everyday employee experience.

Evidence of Career Continuity and Engagement

The impact of these efforts is reflected not only in women's representation and performance, but also in their decision to build long-term careers at Janashakthi Life.

Female employee retention stands at 82.9%, while female turnover was 8.48% in 2025. Notably, 17.09% of female employees have been with the organisation for more than 15 years, reflecting the depth of experience and continuity within its female workforce.

This is further supported by Janashakthi Life's strong workplace culture. The company achieved a 91% Great Place to Work score and has been recognised as a Great Place to Work for five consecutive years. In 2026, it was also recognised among Sri Lanka's 50 Best Workplaces™ by Great Place To Work® Sri Lanka. While these are organisation-wide recognitions, they provide a broader indication of the trust, engagement and confidence employees place in the workplace.

Together, these results show that women are not only joining Janashakthi Life, but are choosing to stay, grow and build meaningful careers within the organisation over the long term.

Recognition at the Satynmag Women Friendly Workplace Awards 2026

Janashakthi Life's continued focus on creating an inclusive and supportive workplace for women was recognised at the Satynmag Women Friendly Workplace Awards 2026, held on 21 August 2026 at The Grand Maitland, Colombo. The company was named among the Top 20 Women-Friendly Workplaces in Sri Lanka for 2026, following an evaluation of workplace culture, leadership and career growth, work-life balance and flexibility, health, safety and wellbeing, and community impact. The recognition reflects the organisation's progress in areas such as women's career development, parental and childcare support, flexible work, wellbeing, leadership opportunities and career continuity, reinforcing Janashakthi Life's commitment to enabling women to build sustainable and rewarding careers.

Continuing the Journey

Janashakthi Life recognises that building a women-friendly workplace is an evolving journey, guided by the Group's core values of Integrity, Collaboration, Respect, Performance Driven and Innovation.

Looking ahead, the company's priorities include strengthening the female leadership and succession pipeline, increasing women's representation at senior management and Board levels, expanding mentoring and career sponsorship, creating greater opportunities for career growth and continuing to enhance flexible working, health and wellbeing support.

Progress will continue to be measured through women's representation, leadership progression, performance, retention and career continuity, while ensuring that these efforts remain aligned with the values that shape the wider JXG culture.