Statement

Of [public sector employees], 70% are women.

Fact check

President overstates share of women in the public sector

On 28 March 2019, Dinamina reported President Maithripala Sirisena making the above statement.

The latest available annual report of Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey (2017), published by the Department of Census and Statistics, estimates total employment in the public sector (excluding the armed forces) as 1,178,708. Of this figure, the share of women is reported as 44.8%.

Similarly, the average estimate for total employment in the public sector, across the four quarterly reports available for 2018, is 1,158,478 (excluding the armed forces). Of this figure, the average for the share of women is 45.2%.

The data points to the share of women in the public sector being around 45%. The president claimed 70%. Therefore, we classify the president's statement as FALSE.

*FactCheck's verdict is based on the most recent information that is publicly accessible. As with every fact check, if new information becomes available, FactCheck will revisit the assessment.