.-........ . ....... ..... Tackling Childcare: The Business Case for Employer-supported Childcare in Sri Lanka Case Study Hemas Holdings PLC Diversif ied Business ~IF Fuance Corporation Creain MaK WORLD BANKGROUP HE~ t*>SCreating Markets, CreatingOpotnie ABOUT IFC IFC-a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group--is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We workwith more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world. In fiscal year 2018,we delivered more than $23 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information,visit i ABOUT IFCS WOMEN IN WORK PROGRAM IN SRI LANKA The IFC-led Women in Work (WiW) Program, a four year program va lued at US$11.Smn and funded bytheAustralian Government, launched in April 2017 It is IFCs largest, standalone country-based gender program, working with private sector companies to close gender gaps while improving business performance. The program, which benefits from mu tisector program design and works closely with the World Bank on research, tackles women's access to jobs and assets at the same time. It aims to increase women's workforce participation in Sri Lanka's private sector, create more and betterjobs for women, and has the potential to increase company profits and drive overall economic growth. WiW a so contributes to the vision of the Government of Sri Lanka where all citizens can achieve higher incomes and better standards of iving by2025.2 Access to quality childcare services is a key constraint on women's labor force participation. Fol lowing I FC's global Tackling Childcare initiative, this report highlights Sri Lanka-specific data, experiences and resources on employer-supported childcare and may not only be relevant to individual businesses but can also serve as a resource for special economic zones, Information Technology (IT) parks and other consortium models. This case study is one of 10 featured in the report 'Tockling Childcare: The Business Case for Employer-supported Childcare in Sri Lanka", available at .ifordtacklinchiadeare. COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER NOTICE @ International Finance Corporation 2018. All rights reserved. 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433 USA Internet wforg The material in this work is copyrighted. Copying and/or transmitting portions or all ofthisworkwithout permission maybe a violation of applicable law IFC encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission to reproduce portions of the work promptly, and when the reproduction is for educational and non-commercial purposes, without a fee, subject to such attributions and notices as we may reasonably require. IFC does not guarantee the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the content included in this work, or for the conclusions or judgments described herein, and accepts no responsibilityor liability for any omissions or errors (including, without limitation,typographical errors and technical errors) in the content whatsoever or for reliance thereon. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply anyjudgment on the part of the World Bank Group concerning the legal status of anyterritory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of the World Bank Group or the governments they represent. The contents of this work are intended for general informational purposes only and are not intended to constitute legal, securities, or investment advice, an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment, or a solicitation of any type. IFC or its affiliates may have an investment in, provide other advice or servicesto, or otherwise have a financial interest in, certain of the companies and parties (including named herein). All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to IFC Communications, 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, USA International Finance Corporation is an international organization established byArticles of Agreement among its member countries, and a member of the World Bank Group. All names, logos and trademarks are the property of IFC and you may not use any of such materials for any purpose without the express written consent of IFC.Additional y,"International Finance Corporation" and "IFC" are registered trademarks of IFC and are protected under international law. December2018 Hemas Holdings PLC HS KidZone - A Back-Up Care Arrangement One of Sri Lanka's fastest growing conglomerates, Hemas Holdings PLC, a member of IFC's SheWorks partnership in Sri Lanka, touches the lives of millions of loyal customers with their wellness, leisure and mobility Employee Profile: services. Over a span of nearly seven decades, Hemas * Total employees: 6755 has delivered an award-winning range of diversified * 28 percent of Hemas employees are women products and services that continue to help enrich lives, (excluding Hemas Hospitals: 17 percent are empower businesses, and make a positive contribution women) to the nation's economic development. * 68 percent of employees in Hemas Hospitals are women Hemas is committed to improving diversity and providing * 13 percent of Board of Management members equal employment opportunities for everyone. Retaining are women and empowering women leaders is part of the group's overall diversity strategy. Currently, out of 6755 employees, Hemas supports working parents through: 28 percent are women (inclusive of the hospital staff). e KidZone, a back-up childcare arrangement However, excluding the hospital staff (where the majority 9 MumZone for lactating mothers of the staff are women) only 17 percent employees are *MedZone for all employees women. The Group has in place a goal to increase the 9 Paid Maternity Leave (100 days), Paternity Leave gender balance to 25 percent by 2020 (excluding (10 days) and Adoption Leave (same as the hospitals). The Group's strategy to meet these targets maternity and paternity benefits for a child includes a variety of corporate policies and programs that under 1 year, and half the benefit for a child include childcare support as part of 360You, the Group's y between 1 and 5 years) employer value proposition. * Flexible Work Solutions (such as flex-time and part-time working arrangements) Sri Lanka's Health Sector Key business impacts of offering childcare support: In Sri Lanka's health sector, women make up the * Contributing to the broader strategy of being a vast majority of those employed. They are respected diverse and inclusive company and accepted as doctors, nurses, midwifes and * Gender diversity ratio at Hemas Hospitals has support staff. The nursing profession especially is increased from 65 percent (2017) to 68 percent dominated by women, with only about 10 percent (2018) of the nurses being male. The establishment * Building a company reputation as a family- recruits trained nurses and also trains new recruits friendly employer in its own nurses' training school where more than * Supporting recruitment and retention strategies 90 percent of applications in both categories are from women. The explanation for the low representation of men in this profession is that nursing is perceived by both male and female "At Hemas we have been making concerted applicants and patients as a "female job". efforts to become a more attractive workplace for Moreover, male nurses are not considered to be women. Interestingly, some of the policy changes acceptable to tend to women patients. made and facilities provided make us a better workplace for men too. As an example, when we Source: ILO. Factors Affecting Women's Labour introduced an enhanced maternity leave scheme, Force Participation in Sri Lanka. 2076. we also introduced paternity leave and adoption h ttps:Avww. ilo.0org/wcmsp5/Zous/pblc--- asia leave. The KidZone hosts children whose mother pu-robatikok---ion/ c 7 d n or father works at Hemas. As a new mom myself, access to the MomZone has improved my working experience, especially when compared with working moms who do not have access to a sanitary space to express milk for their infants." Upulka Samarakoon Munasinha, Head of Human Resources, Hemas Holdings PLC 02 A back-up care arrangement was set up as a pilot Voice of Women (VOW) initiative at the Hemas House (headquarters of the Group) Hemas Women's Network with a specially designed space for children that can accommodate up to 10 children aged 3 to 12 years old. This age group is considered to be one that can be Hemas celebrated 2017 nternational Women's managed by the parent without supervision by additional Day by launching Voice of Women, a women's staff (such as a cr6che supervisor or nannies). This allows network with representation across all business parents to "hot desk" from one of the adjoining work units and grades. The objective of this network is stations and have a peace of mind that their children are to support the attraction, retention and safe and occupied. This space is not meant to replace advancement of women at all levels within the regular childcare arrangements but was designed as an Group. The network collaborates with both men option to be used when regular childcare arrangements and women by encouraging employees to be fail, as they occasionally do. The facility also provides a conscious of gender bias in their daily decisions MumZone for lactating mothers and a MedZone for al and actions. employees who are feeling unwell or need to rest during VOW identified top three challenges through the work day. focus group discussions held across the Group, namely childcare, maternity leave and transport Moving forward, Hemas recognizes that its effort to retain after off ice hours. Together with the human working parents is going to be a game changer and the resources department and management, pilot KidZone will help further determine their employees' respective policies were implemented: future demand for other childcare services in other Bau business units and locations. The business benefits extend beyond the comparably small number of employees who directly use back-up care. The KidZone provides access to the talent pool Hemas wants to recruit and retain which also contributes to the broader strategy of being a diverse and inclusive employer. *Paternity leave (10 working days)aniclsvemoyr The Group is also considering collecting more comprehensive gender disaggregated data on the success of its existing back-up care facilities, including data on employee satisfaction and retention, and use this data to further strengthen the case for childcare support. In a regional analysis of diversity in the workplace published by Cornerstone Partners LLP in the UK, 2017, Hemas was ranked amongst the top10 most These efforts have resulted in a more inclusive diversity-friendly corporate institutes in Asia.3 Hemas is on a environment that benefits all employees. quest to build a strong employer brand associated with diversity and inclusion in addition to other areas of a holistic employee experience like wellness. 03 "Providing a suitable environment for our employees to pursue excellence in their careers whilst balancing their roles as parents is important to Hemas. When in need or in an emergency, our employees have the option of bringing their child to work and keeping an eye on them whilst continuing to work. This gives them greater peace of mind because both work and parental responsibilities can be fulfilled simultaneously." Dimuth De Alwis, Group Human Resource Director, Hemas Holding PLC The First National Center of Excellence for Children with Disabilities: AYATI Ayati Trust Sri Lanka is a charitable trust incorporated by the University of Kelaniya, a state university in Sri Lanka, Hemas Holdings and MAS Holdings. Disability includes mental and physical disabilities. Children with disabilities have individual, innate strengths and talents through which they can contribute positively to society. It is with this understanding that Ayati (meaning 'Hope' in Sanskrit) was set up, to help improve children's quality of life and independence, while also providing them with opportunities to develop and blossom into their full potential. This will help these children become included into mainstream society and have a significantly positive impact on their lives, their families and society at large. Ayati is a long-term national initiative which has three main aims: * Constructing and operating a national Centre for children with disabilities * Changing the mindlset of the public to eliminate any stigma and promote acceptance of children with disabilities * Extending similar services to the rural areas of Sri Lanka in time to come Source: www.ayati.Ik I I FC. 2017. Government of Australia Partner to Support More and Better Jobs for Women in Sri Lanka. 2 Office of the Prime Minister. 2017. vision 2025. A Country Enriched. See page 26. 3 Hemas Holdings PLC Annual Report. 2016/2017. Engage. Empower 04 IFC Wornen in Work Prograrn IFC, Level 15, NDB-EDB Tower 42, Nawam Mawatha Colombo 2 Sri Lanka Email: womeninwork@ife.org December 2018 The DFAT I FC Women in Work program Sri Lanka, in partnership with leading private IFCI .....sector companies, aims to demonstrate that corporate performance can improve from Creating Markets, Creating Opportunities closing gaps between women and men in the private sector.