Nemanthie Kooragamage shares a snapshot of the global apparel industry’s future and how MAS is enabling more women to be a part of it
Nemanthie Kooragamage, Director – Group Sustainable Business at MAS Holdings, describes herself as ” passionate about whatever I do: work, family and life itself!” With over 23 years of experience in the apparel industry, today she is responsible for positioning MAS as a global leader in sustainable business, building partnerships, and trying to create headway in pioneering circularity at scale. In this interview with Echelon, she shares where MAS fits in the evolution and future of the global apparel industry and her journey as a leader.
What makes working at MAS a fulfilling role for you?
My values are important to me, and I feel that my values align well with MAS, which makes me feel like I belong in this organization. Being empowered to drive change and create a positive impact on our people, the communities, and the countries we operate in is something very special to me.
How do you see the global apparel industry evolving, and what factors will influence its future?
The global apparel industry is now very aware and convinced of the role it has to play in driving meaningful change for the planet. This has to be a collective effort, with all stakeholders coming together with common goals.
This includes driving impactful change for the environment, providing meaningful employment for the people working in the industry, and ensuring the products that we create are more sustainable and circular.
Circularity is one of the most critical solutions that we must unlock to reduce the impact of the industry. We look forward to an industry that would have a fully circular economy in the future.
How has the apparel industry in Sri Lanka responded to the current challenges, and what of Sri Lanka’s apparel industry and its place in this evolving environment?
The Sri Lankan apparel industry has been resilient through the pandemic and the economic crisis and both the industry and MAS continued to push forward even in challenging times due to our foresight and agility.
Amidst the challenges, each crisis has given us space to rethink and reimagine how we want to create new opportunities for ourselves. I believe Sri Lanka has the opportunity now to bring a new narrative of what we have to offer.
The Sri Lankan apparel industry has been very progressive in terms of sustainability and companies like MAS have been able to showcase these efforts to our customers. Since sustainability is so vital for the global apparel industry, the authenticity of the sustainability credentials of their sourcing destinations becomes a strong attribute for customers, which puts Sri Lanka apparel in a strong position as a sustainable manufacturing destination.
How has MAS contributed to encouraging women to become leaders?
MAS has always looked at strengthening the women in its workforce, and in recent years, expanded those efforts to work on building a strong representation of women in leadership.
We have set ourselves a goal to reach 30% women in management by 2025, with strong alignment from the group leadership. Annual performance metrics for HR Leaders and CEOs have included gender representation targets, as a step towards driving accountability. Currently, we have reached 23% of women in management roles.
Our avenues of support for women range from providing mentorship and sponsorship to providing flexible work policies, and support for working parents through childcare support facilities. Maternity, paternity and adoption leave policies are in place to build a culture where men and women are encouraged to participate more fully in their families, thereby influencing change in existing social structures.
MAS also provides sensitization interventions to help overcome socialized behaviour, unconscious biases and systemic inequalities, through Diversity, Accessibility and Respect workshops, even bringing a gender-inclusive lens to processes such as recruitment.
Do you have any advice for the female leaders of the future?
I believe that young women should strive to always have a “seat at the table”. Most recent research shows diverse boardrooms make the most robust decisions. It’s about transferring your emotions to passion, harnessing your emotional intelligence that comes more naturally to women to become inspirational leaders.
It is also important to define what “success means to you”. We often let society and organizations define what success is for us. We need to define it for ourselves based on what truly makes us happy. As females, we are great at multitasking and trudging along unfulfilling jobs, whether it’s due to fear of failure or not wanting to challenge the status quo. It’s important to find fulfilling roles without settling. It’s simply not about all of us becoming CEOs but all of us finding roles that speak to us more, whether it’s flexible days or the full nine yards.