John Keells Holdings (JKH) has embedded inclusion within its organisational infrastructure, positioning it as a foundational practice rather than an aspirational goal. The launch of ONE JKH, representing the John Keells Group commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I), marked a deliberate shift from centralised ownership to shared ownership and meaningful action at sector level.
Under ONE JKH, increasing female participation in the workforce toward achieving gender parity became a key objective. Progress required focused action in two parallel areas: expanding access to non-traditional roles and strengthening representation in leadership. Recognising that uniform solutions would be ineffective across diverse industries, the Group entrusted each business with examining its own workforce realities, identifying structural barriers, and designing interventions suited to its operational context.
Krishan Balendra, Chairperson of John Keells Group, states:
“Our approach to DE&I under the ONE JKH initiative has always been rooted in meritocracy, and we have intentionally refrained from affirmative action or positive discrimination. Where DE&I programmes are being challenged in some global conversations, John Keells firmly believes that a truly inclusive workplace and a diverse workforce are essential to our success and the growth of Sri Lanka’s economy.”
Krishan Balendra, Chairperson, John Keells Group
This approach of decentralised ownership has allowed diversity, equity, and inclusion to move beyond policy and into daily practice.
In hospitality, perception has long been one of the most persistent barriers. Misconceptions surrounding the safety of female employees have contributed to stigma about women working in tourism. Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts chose to address this challenge directly.
With a clear vision of positioning hospitality as a safe, credible, and promising career pathway for women, the EmpowHer Network was established to create structured opportunities for engagement and professional growth.
In 2025, EmpowHer was restructured to focus on long-term retention, engagement, and development. Backed by a comprehensive annual calendar, programmes are driven at property level and supported by the corporate team. By institutionalising support and visibility, Cinnamon is reshaping what a career in hospitality can represent for women in Sri Lanka.
From hotel corridors to supermarket aisles, inclusion takes on a different form, often beginning with the groundwork. At Keells Supermarkets, a critical review of store and warehouse operations revealed that several roles remained male-dominated not because of competence, but because of design.
Equipment weight, counter height, and manual handling methods had unintentionally restricted women’s access to functions such as meat counters and logistics handling. The response was practical and decisive. Roller cages replaced labour-intensive loading methods, equipment was recalibrated for safer and more ergonomic use, counter heights were adjusted, and tools were redesigned.
These operational refinements enabled women to enter roles previously perceived as inaccessible due to physical demands, including meat counters, pickers, power pallet truck operators, and reach truck operators. Flexibility in scheduling has also been introduced to support pregnant employees in maintaining continuity of employment.
Leadership representation at Keells Supermarkets has progressed in parallel. Women are increasingly appointed as Outlet Managers and Regional Managers, providing role models to younger workers and demonstrating that a career in retail management is attainable for women. Where internal pipelines required acceleration, external recruitment ensured momentum.
Inclusion in retail has therefore evolved through redesign, reshaping the environment so that participation becomes sustainable.
In the Property sector, progress is being shaped through exposure and progression. John Keells Properties introduced the MentorHer programme for 2024/25, offering a six-month structured mentorship cycle for female employees seeking professional guidance. With ten mentees per batch and a flexible format, participants are able to access strategic insight and leadership support without rigid constraints.
Women in nontraditional roles across Keells
Female engineers within the Property sector also have opportunities to broaden their technical exposure by working across both Cinnamon Life and Viman projects. By enabling cross-project experience within large-scale developments, the sector is strengthening technical depth and visibility in areas where women remain underrepresented. These measures reinforce that leadership pipelines are built not only through policy, but through experience.
Within the Transportation sector, inclusion is advancing across logistics, fleet operations, and aviation. Women have been retained in roles ranging from Operations Executives and Air Cargo Executives to Visa Executives and Distribution Centre leadership. At John Keells Logistics, a female Distribution Centre In-Charge now leads operations, regarded as one of the first such appointments in Sri Lanka’s third-party logistics industry. The appointment of the first female supervisor to head DHL Fleet Operations also established a precedent in fleet management leadership.
John Keells Group Transportation Sector – Women across the sector
The sector continues to expand its talent pipeline. Women are currently under training as forklift operators, while efforts are underway to introduce female aircraft technicians and light vehicle drivers. A female seafarer has also been identified and will be onboarded once a new vessel is acquired. In collaboration with John Keells Foundation, structured pathways are being developed to support women entering non-traditional logistics roles, ensuring that progress is formalised rather than incidental.
Within Financial Services, inclusion is being driven through scale and intentional leadership development. At Union Assurance, women now represent 53% of the workforce. In the Partnership Distribution Division, female frontline sales employees account for over 60%, reflecting a significant shift in representation within a traditionally male-dominated sales environment.
John Keells Foundation Project WAVE
The company’s GROW Circle platform supports women’s empowerment through a level-based leadership training pathway aligned with a target of 30% female leadership representation by 2030. Complementary initiatives such as GROW Circle, Nurture Networking & Mentoring, life-skills training, and focused hiring strategies—including gender-neutral language and balanced shortlisting—reflect broader Group-wide efforts to embed inclusion within recruitment and advancement systems across the John Keells Group.
“Our approach to DE&I under the ONE JKH initiative has always been rooted in meritocracy, and we have intentionally refrained from affirmative action or positive discrimination. Where DE&I programmes are being challenged in some global conversations, John Keells firmly believes that a truly inclusive workplace and a diverse workforce are essential to our success and the growth of Sri Lanka’s economy.”
– Krishan Balendra, Chairperson, John Keells Group
In the Consumer Foods sector, empowerment extends into both supply chains and frontline operations. Through sustainable sourcing initiatives, women are supported in cultivating key raw materials such as vanilla, kithul jaggery, ginger, and dairy farming. The programme currently benefits 120 women milk farmers, 1,000 women vanilla farmers, 80 women kithul farmers, and 120 women ginger farmers, strengthening local agricultural ecosystems while creating meaningful income opportunities.
Women farmers in the supply chain of the Consumer Foods Sector
Within sales and distribution, nine female sales representatives have been recruited, improving gender representation in frontline operations. The network also includes 24 female-led distributorships and more than 25 female-led mobile units, demonstrating tangible progress in areas historically marked by lower female participation.
Gunadamin Elephant House, the sustainability arm of the sector, further reinforces this approach. Four women-led Material Recovery Facility (MRF) centres are currently in operation, each supporting approximately 50 families and positively impacting more than 250 individuals. By managing waste responsibly in environmentally sensitive areas, these women contribute to pollution prevention while building stable supplementary income streams for their communities.
The EmpowerHer Initiative by Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts
Beyond business units, the broader social ecosystem remains central. Through Project WAVE — Working Against Violence through Education — the John Keells Foundation has reached over 5.8 million individuals through sensitisation and training initiatives since 2014, addressing gender-based violence and child abuse. Engagement spans Group staff, law enforcement personnel, members of the judiciary, educators, students, and the wider public.
The Foundation has also strengthened institutional response capacity, recently sponsoring advanced investigative software for the Cyber Investigation Unit at the Bureau for the Prevention and Investigation of Abuse of Children and Women. By enhancing investigative efficiency and data analysis capabilities, the initiative contributes to more effective justice outcomes and safer communities.
This sustained commitment is underscored by Group leadership. As Krishan Balendra notes:
“For us, this is not a passing trend or the need to be compliant, but understanding the business case for diversity, the engagement of all our talent, and also ensuring that John Keells is a respectful workplace for all. It is a commitment we will uphold with integrity and purpose.”
He further explains that ONE JKH initiatives reflect this approach through measures such as 100 days of equal parental leave, women-centric training, gender-neutral terminology, increasing female participation in non-traditional roles, mentoring programmes, and recognising domestic partnerships in compensation and benefits. These efforts remove barriers and provide equal opportunities for all.
“The leadership of the Group continues to champion equity, speaking up against stereotyping and addressing unconscious bias to create lasting, meaningful change for all,” he adds.
Across industries as varied as hospitality, retail, property, logistics, financial services, and consumer goods, the progress is consistent: inclusion advances when systems are recalibrated with intention. Adjusted infrastructure, expanded exposure, structured mentorship, technological innovation, and strengthened community safeguards collectively widen access.
As the Group continues to evolve, progress at John Keells is defined not by isolated initiatives, but by a sustained commitment to embedding opportunity for women into the very framework of how the organisation operates and grows.