In March, USAID-supported Coherent, Open, Responsive, Effective Justice (CORE Justice) initiative hosted a panel discussion in Colombo for an audience of one hundred lawyers and law students to celebrate International Women's Day. The event discussed the challenges women faced in the legal profession and strategies to overcome them. Working to promote the rule of law in Sri Lanka, CORE Justice emphasizes support to diverse career pathways for women attorneys and expansion of professional leadership roles for women. 

The panel featured some of Sri Lanka’s most reputed female lawyers, such as the country’s first female state counsel and Supreme Court Justice and the first female Secretary appointed to a Cabinet Ministry. They also represented a wide range of fields including the judiciary, the corporate sector, and civil and criminal litigation. The key messages that came from the panelists were that despite significant challenges, women can excel in the legal profession through knowledge, hard work, courage, perseverance, and by supporting each other.