International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

Frequency: 12
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 Volume 12, Issue 3 (March 2025), Pages: 216-224

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 Original Research Paper

Challenges in implementing digital employment platforms for women’s participation in Sri Lanka: A structural equation modeling approach

 Author(s): 

 D. S. Kodithuwakku 1, *, Indralal W. De Silva 2

 Affiliation(s):

 1Department of Social Statistics, University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya, Sri Lanka
 2Department of Demography, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka

 Full text

  Full Text - PDF

 * Corresponding Author. 

  Corresponding author's ORCID profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3504-0737

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

 https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2025.03.021

 Abstract

The female labor force participation (FLFP) rate is vital for socioeconomic growth, influencing productivity, economic progress, and gender equality. Despite advancements in women’s digital and computer skills, Sri Lanka’s FLFP remains low, averaging 34% over the past decade. The increasing digital skills among women present an opportunity to address this issue through digital employment platforms that offer flexible work arrangements and remote job opportunities, especially for women balancing work and family responsibilities. This study employs Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to quantitatively assess the challenges faced by women in using digital employment platforms within Sri Lanka’s banking and manufacturing sectors, which, despite their potential for digital transformation, exhibit low digital maturity. Findings reveal that inadequate technical skills, limited empowerment, weak communication, low confidence in digital technologies, and societal and institutional barriers are major obstacles. Additionally, poor professional networking, low interest in ICT skills, and insufficient risk assessment further hinder women's engagement with digital platforms. These barriers underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions to enhance technical training, empower women professionally, improve networking opportunities, and strengthen risk management, thereby promoting gender equality and inclusive employment within Sri Lanka’s labor market.

 © 2025 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

 Female labor participation, Digital skills, Employment platforms, Gender equality, Structural equation modeling

 Article history

 Received 13 November 2024, Received in revised form 17 March 2025, Accepted 21 March 2025

 Acknowledgment

No Acknowledgment.

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Ethical considerations

Informed consent was obtained from all participants, and their responses were kept anonymous and confidential. The study adhered to standard ethical guidelines for research involving human subjects.

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

 Kodithuwakku DS and De Silva IW (2025). Challenges in implementing digital employment platforms for women’s participation in Sri Lanka: A structural equation modeling approach. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 12(3): 216-224

 Permanent Link to this page

 Figures

 Fig. 1 Fig. 2

 Tables

 Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 5 

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