Page 228 - Siduliya

228 SEVA VANITHA

anything, just because we were girls. I used to climb trees, ride bicycles, and do whatever the boys
did around the neighborhood. I never thought that there were activities that a girl cannot do. My
parents were from Jaffna and I was born and bred in Colombo. Back then my mother was the person
who supported the family as my father lost his job when I was four years old. I had a strong mother
who encouraged me to pursue my passion and get a good education. I studied at Holy Family
Convent Bambalapitiya, where I participated in many sports activities including athletics, netball
basketball etc. When I was doing my O/L’s, I was in the Tamil class, and during the 1983 riots 38 out
of 40 students in my class went back to Jaffna and some migrated to Australia and other countries.
In such a backdrop, my school even created a math class in English medium for me, because they
did not want me to leave as I was valuable to them. Early in life I learnt that if you were valuable to
people around you, they would accommodate your needs and adjust to make you succeed. During
school, I captained the netball and basketball teams, and was the Games Captaion. This allowed me
to hone my leadership skills. I did my A/L’s in 1987 and took double math, physics, and chemistry, as
I wanted to become an Engineer. However, within one week of leaving school, I got a job at an audit
firm. Actually, it was not for work but to play netball, because they were the A Division Champions
then. I have a principle that whatever I do, I want to learn it well and do it well. Even in my studies I
would push to be in the top 3 in my class. When I joined the audit firm, I made sure I learnt everything
related to the basics in auditing. Even though I was able to enter the University of Colombo to do
Physical Science, I had to say goodbye to my tertiary education on the first day itself for fear of
being ragged. It was an added pressure since the only request my Mum had was that I needed to
get qualified. However, my head of the department and the company I worked at encouraged and
supported me in my education. As a result, I did CIMA and qualified as a Chartered Management
Accountant when I was 22 years old.

How did you develop leadership qualities needed to hold a key position in the business
world?

It all started during my school days, where I played sports and I was a Prefect and Games Captain.
I represented Sri Lanka in basketball and netball, and went on to captain Sri Lanka in basketball. For
me, being a leader of a team is not a title, instead a leader must be someone who is trying to get the
best out of the rest, so that the team together can succeed. A person who has learnt to fail and face
defeat, and still come back fighting looking to win, No one can become a good leader or be excellent
overnight. Continuous practice and hard work are key to success, there are no shortcuts

What is your message to women to overcome the challenges you face as a woman on this
successful journey?

At Hemas, I did not face any challenges based on my gender, they looked at the best person to get
the job done at hand. But of course, there are many challenges we face in society. At the age of 29 I
was divorced, and that’s why I started working fulltime. I had my two children to look after. When you
have a purpose, you know why you are doing it and if you are focused, other politics will move away.
The support of your family, parents, company, colleagues etc. is vital. You need the whole support
system to help you.

What is your view on freedom of women and the harassment they face at times?

Each of us have a big role to play in this, especially when bringing up our kids. Most importantly
our sons. Harassment of women is extremely widespread and has been found to negatively impact