This International Women’s Day 2026, we move beyond celebration and into documentation. Women Who Did It Anyway is a curated article series featuring women who progressed not because conditions were perfect, but because they chose to move forward anyway.

Across industries, from entrepreneurship to corporate leadership, these women navigated systems, expectations, resistance, and trade-offs. Their stories are not motivational slogans. They are lived decisions. This series brings those decisions to light, in their own words. 

Niluka Jayasinghe
FCA, FCPA, ACCA, FFA, FIPA, BSc Marketing Sp. (USJP)
Founder, Managing Director 
Global Bookkeeping Solutions (Pvt) Ltd,
Award winning entrepreneur and an Advocate for Women in Sri Lanka’s BPM Sector

1. There is usually a moment when continuing feels harder than stopping. What was that moment for you, and what made you go ahead anyway?
There was a season in my life when everything felt heavy at the same time. The business was growing, clients were increasing, my team needed leadership, and at home, I was a mother of two young children trying to study, qualify, and still be present. I remember nights sitting alone after everyone had slept, wondering if I had taken on too much.

There wasn’t one dramatic breakdown. It was quite exhausting. The kind that doesn’t show on social media. The kind where you smile in meetings but feel stretched inside. For a brief moment, stopping felt peaceful. Simple.

But I couldn’t ignore the deeper truth — I wasn’t building just a company. I was building dignity, opportunity, and independence. I was building something my children would one day understand. That purpose pulled me forward when my strength felt small.

2. Not all obstacles are loud. Some are structural, cultural, or quietly exhausting. What kind of resistance did you face that people may not immediately see?
The resistance I faced was rarely loud. It was subtle. It was being underestimated in conversations. It was being asked, indirectly, who “really” makes the decisions. It was the quiet cultural pressure that suggested a woman should choose stability over ambition, comfort over expansion.

There was also the invisible emotional labour. Carrying responsibility for clients, staff, family, and still needing to show calm leadership. No one sees the moments you cry in the car before walking into a meeting. No one sees the guilt of missing a small moment at home.

And perhaps the most exhausting resistance was the one inside me.  The constant negotiation between ambition and motherhood. Learning that I did not have to shrink to be accepted was one of my hardest lessons.

3. You didn’t just progress, you navigated systems along the way. What did you have to learn, unlearn, or negotiate to move forward?
I had to unlearn the belief that I had to do everything myself to prove my worth. In the beginning, I carried too much because I thought leadership meant sacrifice without limits. I learned that growth requires structure, systems, and trust, not burnout.

I had to negotiate how Sri Lankan talent is perceived globally. Outsourcing is often seen as cheap labour. I refused to position us that way. We are knowledge professionals. We are ethical. We are skilled. That mindset shift required courage.

I also had to learn to say no, No! to clients, to expectations, sometimes even to myself. Boundaries were not a weakness. They are survival tools.

4. Doing it anyway often comes with trade-offs — personal, emotional, or professional. What did this journey cost you, and what made it worth paying that price?
This journey cost me rest. It cost me certainty. It cost me moments of stillness.

There were days I felt divided,  half in a boardroom, half thinking about my children. There were times I questioned if I was being selfish for wanting more. Entrepreneurship can be lonely, especially when you are the one others depend on.

But what made it worth it was the transformation, not just mine, but others’. Watching young graduates grow into confident professionals. Seeing women in my team become financially independent. Generating foreign income for Sri Lanka during difficult economic times. And at home, my children are watching their mother build something with integrity.

That exchange, discomfort for impact, felt meaningful.

5. Has your definition of success changed since you began this journey? What does success look like to you now?
At first, success meant numbers. Revenue. Growth. Recognition. Awards.

Today, success feels quieter and deeper. It is peace in my decisions. It is sustainability. It is building a company that can function without my constant sacrifice. It is having dinner with my children without checking my phone.
Success now means alignment between my values, my work, and my family. It means not having to shrink any part of myself.

6. If another woman is standing at the edge of a difficult decision today, what would you want her to know — not as advice, but as truth?
The truth is, fear does not disappear before you move. It walks with you.

You will doubt yourself. You will question whether you are enough. Some days you will feel brave, and some days you will feel very small.

But growth begins the moment you decide not to abandon yourself.

You don’t need to be fearless. You just need to be honest about what your heart keeps asking for. If something inside you refuses to stay quiet, listen to it. Even if your voice shakes.

You are allowed to take up space.