Advocata Institute Highlights Regulatory Barrier Limiting Women’s Overtime Earnings

Advocata Institute says that, a regulatory barrier prevents Sri Lankan women achieving pay parity with their male counterparts despite recent legislative amendments have opened doors for women to work night shifts. 

Despite the 2024 and 2026 liberalizations of the Shop and Office Employees Act (SOEA), which allowed women over 18 to work night shifts in IT, BPO, and hospitality sectors, women remain legally barred from maximizing their income due to rigid overtime restrictions.

Under current regulations, women cannot be employed under the Shop and Office Act for more than nine hours per day, a limit that strictly includes overtime. While Regulation 6 of the Act permits up to twelve hours of overtime per week, this daily “hard cap” creates a practical barrier that prevents women from accessing the full overtime entitlement available to male workers. This creates a regulatory paradox: while the law now permits women to work at night, it simultaneously restricts them from working the hours necessary to take home the same pay as a man performing the same role.

The urgency for reform is underscored by the Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey for the third quarter of 2025, which reveals a significant participation gap. Female labour force participation stands at 33.9 percent, compared to 68.6 percent for men. Closing this gap is a key structural reform priority under Sri Lanka’s International Monetary Fund Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, which highlights the importance of modernizing labour laws to expand labour supply and support long-term economic growth.

Debates on reforming these restrictions are often framed around the concern that removing gender-specific protections could expose women to exploitation. However, a woman’s vulnerability in the labour market is shaped less by the absence of gender-specific laws and more by structural challenges such as inadequate public transport, poor workplace infrastructure, weak enforcement of law and order, and limited access to childcare.

Addressing these underlying barriers is critical to ensuring both protection and opportunity. True empowerment requires shifting the focus from paternalistic hour-caps to creating a safe, gender-neutral environment that allows women the agency to maximize their earnings and contribute fully to the national economy.