International Women’s Day: “Being a woman is a superpower”

(l-r): Ruwanthi Elpitiya, Najma Khatun, Nazeeha Mihraj, Mawra Rauf, Shenya Thillekeratne and Bindukamala Sirimandla

To mark International Women’s Day (8 March), we speak to a group of MBA Global students who have travelled to USW from all over world to study.

Ruwanthi Elpitiya, originally from Sri Lanka, is in her second year of the MBA Global and has just started an internship with Transport for Wales. She previously worked in manufacturing for companies such as Superdry, Next, Primark and other major retailers, and is enjoying the opportunity to learn more about HR during her internship.

She said: “Coming to the UK has been a fantastic experience as I have been able to gain a greater understanding of how people work together in industry, career development opportunities and much more. Personally I have not found that being a woman has held me back, but I am aware of the barriers that we can sometimes face when aiming for progression in our chosen careers, and that has to change.”

Najma Khatun, from Bangladesh, is coming to the end of her MBA Global degree and is already working at USW as a Careers and Enterprise Ambassador.

Having worked with children from underprivileged backgrounds in the international development sector, Najma is keen to continue making a difference to young people’s lives with a career in academia.

She said: “In the past I’ve experienced male colleagues being given roles that I was qualified for, and have noticed that my head scarf sometimes affects people’s perceptions of me, but I will always remember what a wise woman once told me: ‘show them the intellectual power of you’.

"Since then I try to focus on being the best I can be, and not worry about what other people have, or their judgements.”

Nazeeha Mihraj came to USW in September last year, starting a new life in South Wales with her husband and two young children, having previously worked in the finance sector in Sri Lanka.

She said: “The banking industry is very male-dominated in Sri Lanka, and I’ve had many experiences of having to prove myself alongside my male colleagues when it comes to showing my strengths and abilities. It has been tough at times, but I’ve taken each challenge as an opportunity to learn and grow. It’s important that I show my children that they can achieve anything.”

Mawra Rauf came to USW last September from Pakistan, where she worked as an accountant for the Ministry of Finance and undertook an internship with Grant Thornton International.

She decided to study the MBA Global to strengthen her business skills and gain a greater understanding of global industries.

Mawra said: “I believe that women have to try harder to make their mark in business.

"This shouldn’t be the case, and I am seeing a gradual change in mindset, but unfortunately that equality with men isn’t quite there yet.

"As women, we have superpowers that men simply don’t; we have great multitasking skills, balancing work alongside running a home and raising children, as well as showing great empathy, patience, tolerance and strength.

"It’s remarkable what we can do.”

Shenya Thillekeratne, originally from Sri Lanka, came to USW in September last year after over a decade of working in the tourism industry. She decided to pursue the MBA Global to meet people from other parts of the world and learn more about business.

Shenya said: “I was in the fortunate position of having a female Managing Director who was extremely supportive of me and my colleagues. Despite Covid-19 having a devastating impact on the travel industry, we worked hard to protect our team from job losses, which I believe showed that guidance and having belief in each other was far more important than money.”

Bindukamala Sirimandla came to USW just last month, as part of a collaboration with the Lexicon Management Institute of Leadership and Excellence in India. Her background is in engineering, having worked for IBM and Loreal in technical services roles.

She said: “Growing up in India, I had to choose one of two career pathways – engineering or medicine – in order to keep my parents happy. It’s extremely rare for people to successfully work in industries outside of these, which is a shame.

"But by studying the MBA Global I am able to follow my passion for HR, and build on my experience of working with individuals to recognise their talent and recruit them into their ideal jobs. I believe that everyone should be given the chance to have their dream career, no matter where they are from.”

For more information on MBA Global at USW, visit the course page.