The global apparel manufacturing industry is highly competitive and obsessed with low-cost operations. But that hasn’t stopped the Sri Lanka-based MAS with 94,000 associates in 17 countries and 53 facilities from investing in people, particularly the 70% of its workforce who are women.
Co-founder and Chairman of MAS Holdings, Mahesh Amalean received the inaugural United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles Leadership Award for the company’s empowerment program, Women Go Beyond, which focuses on advancing the skills, careers, and work-life balance of its female employees.
“The program actually started very modestly but has gained a lot of momentum since its beginning,” says Amalean. “Looking at these individuals holistically, that was important to us. We looked at how we could improve their competency and skills, their technical skills and soft skills, and improve their careers. We looked at how we could help them have a better balance between work and life.”
Watch the interview to learn more about the program from Amalean and what happened when he changed his leadership approach from a focus on “nailing” someone to understanding the whole work environment.
