Unlocking Employment for Young Women in Sri Lanka

For many young women in Sri Lanka, the path to meaningful employment hits one stubborn wall: English. Not a lack of ambition. Not a lack of talent. Just the gap between what they know and what employers expect — in interviews, in emails, in the language of the professional world.

WTW Lanka decided to close that gap.

Building Career-Ready Women, One Session at a Time

With a $500 Giving Joy microgrant, WTW Lanka expanded its Career Talk: English for Employment program — a virtual, five-month curriculum giving young women aged 18 to 25 the practical tools to enter the workforce with confidence. CV writing. Interview preparation. Workplace communication. Public speaking. Real skills for real jobs.

The program wasn't just well-designed — it worked. Participants who began the program hesitant and uncertain finished it capable of presenting their professional backgrounds fluently and navigating complex interview scenarios with confidence. That's not a small shift. For a young woman who has never pictured herself in a job interview, it can be everything.

The Numbers

• 25 young women completed the program

• 100% female participants — students and early-career professionals

• Final assessments and certificates to be awarded by May 30, 2026

• Sessions recorded and available on WTW Lanka's platform and YouTube — reaching learners beyond the cohort

The Ripple Effect

Here's what makes this model powerful: it doesn't stop at 25. Every participant takes her new skills home — sharing them with peers, family members, and neighbors. Each trained woman becomes a role model and a resource, multiplying the program's reach far beyond what any single grant could directly fund.

That's the Giving Joy model in action: small grants, thoughtfully placed, with effects that keep spreading.