Photos: Sri Lanka”s first women-run hotel challenges gender norms
KANDALAMA: Sri Lanka”s Hotel Amba Yaalu, where woman manager Jeewanthi Adhikari, sits on the shores of Lake Kandalama in the green hills of central Sri Lanka, opened in January with a unique selling point – its staff are exclusively women.It is a first in the country, designed to promote women in a tourism sector where men hold up to 90 percent of hotel jobs. “The chairman wanted to start a new hotel with a new concept,” said Adhikari.. She explained how the idea sprouted from twin blows that hammered the island”s tourism industry – first Covid-19, then the 2022 financial crisis and subsequent political unrest that toppled the president.Owner Chandra Wickramasinghe, president of the Thema Collection group which runs 14 hotels, said he wanted to showcase what women can do if given the chance.”Unfortunately, in Sri Lanka in the hotels, there is no gender equality,” he said.. The blame rests on a mix of factors – lack of training, a culture where women are seen first and foremost as mothers, and very low wages which lead to the perception that women may as well stay at home.”In our men”s society, when it comes to women working in hotels, it”s one nice girl in the reception and housekeepers to clean,” he said.”I wanted to go a little bit further.”. For the 33 rooms of the Amba Yaalu – meaning “best friend” in the island”s Sinhala language – a team of 75 women handle every task, including those traditionally seen as for men.
Source: Compiled by Nathaniel Lacsina