From Passion to Platform: Keynote Address at the "She Moves The World" Women's Leadership High Tea hosted by Great Place to Work Sri Lanka.

The She Moves The World Women's Leadership High Tea, hosted by Great Place to Work Sri Lanka, was a vibrant gathering of corporate women leaders on March 16, 2026, at The Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo. As the keynote speaker, I delivered a 15-minute talk titled "From Passion to Platform: Turning Your Voice into Influence," drawing from my journey as a feminist consultant and storyteller. This event celebrated Women's Day by empowering professionals to amplify their presence in workplaces and communities.​

Event Atmosphere and Purpose

Organised as a curated leadership forum with 100 attendees — emerging leaders, decision-makers, and influencers from Sri Lanka's corporate sector, the program focused on navigating modern workplace realities, with conversations centred on building voice, confidence, and leadership impact.​ Great Place to Work Sri Lanka aimed to bridge potential and influence, encouraging women not just to excel in roles but to shape decisions and lead boldly.

Summary of Keynote

The core of my talk explored evolving passion into leadership influence. I explained that purpose emerges when passion meets intention: "Passion fuels the fire, but purpose directs it toward impact." The following are extracts from my address.

Privilege is not a guilt trap; it is a responsibility

We are not here accidentally. Many of us are in corporate leadership, professional roles, or decision‑making positions. We have education, financial security, networks, and access to platforms that most women in Sri Lanka lack.

That is not a reason to feel guilty. It is a reason to act. "Well‑behaved women seldom make history."

This was not a slogan-card statement. It was about who gets remembered. The women who changed were not the ones who stayed quietly in the background. They disrupted, they challenged, they claimed space.

And very often, they used the privilege they had — their class, their education, their access to institutions — to change things for women who were far less powerful than they were.

The reality many women live: silence, violence, and invisible labour

Let's ground ourselves in the present. Because a portion of women in Sri Lanka sit on corporate boards and in leadership forums, other women live very different realities.

So while we are sitting in this room, women are dying. Women are being beaten. Women are doing unpaid care work that keeps our families, our workplaces, and our economies running, without being seen, counted, or compensated.

Turning privilege into a platform: what this means for women in this room

We must stop romanticising our "success" and start asking: Whose labour made this possible?

Think of the female domestic workers in your homes or in your offices. In Sri Lanka, domestic workers are largely excluded from core labour protections. They have no minimum wage, no social security, and limited legal protection.

You may have the privilege of working long hours, travelling, and attending forums like this. But often, that is possible because another woman, with far less security, is doing the domestic work in your home.

So, what can you do?

Pay fair wages, not "we're like family" exploitation.

Ensure rest, leave, and dignity.

Speak up when you see other employers treating domestic workers as disposable. That is not charity. That is using your privilege to change the conditions of women who are more vulnerable than you.

The way you treat the women in your home is the first feminist lesson your children learn.

In your workplace: mentoring, sponsorship, and speaking up

What can you do as a woman in leadership?

Mentor intentionally, not occasionally. Don't just mentor women who remind you of yourself. Seek out women who are different from you — different class, religion, background, or even personality.

Sponsor women into opportunities, not just advice. Put names forward for promotions, projects, and high‑visibility roles. When you hear someone say, "She's not quite ready," ask, "Is she not ready, or is she not what we usually picture as a leader?"

Share your knowledge, networks, and contacts. Introduce young women to your networks. Share templates, frameworks, and strategies you've developed over the years. Don't hoard your advantage as if it makes you "special."

Refuse to be the "only woman in the room". If you are invited to a panel, meeting, or strategy session, ask: "Who else is here?" If there are no other women, or no women from different backgrounds, say so. Ask for more diverse voices to be included.

Accountability is not something that happens above you. It is something you build around you and below you. Silence always benefits the status quo.

Being authentic: Showing who you are, not who you think you should be

We are told from a young age that "good girls" are pleasant, agreeable, polite, and accommodating. We are praised for being "easy to work with," "never causing trouble," and "always understanding."

But here's the truth: If you are not willing to be seen as a little difficult, a little inconvenient, or even a "troublemaker," you will never truly lead.

Authenticity is not about being loud or dramatic. It is about showing up as the person you actually are, not the version you think will make everyone comfortable. It means being honest when you are tired, when you are angry, when you are grieving, or when you are confused — instead of smiling through another meeting as if everything is fine. It means speaking up when you see something unfair, even if it means people will think you are "too sensitive" or "too outspoken."

The women who changed things were the ones who were willing to be seen as difficult, as disruptive, as messy.

So, I invite you to ask yourself: Are you trying to be liked, or to be true? Because your voice will only influence if it is rooted in who you are, not in who you think you should be. You are not here to be "nice." You are here to be real, courageous, and transformative. And that means sometimes being disliked, sometimes being called a troublemaker — and still choosing to speak anyway.

The unfinished work and the invitation to history

The struggle for women's rights in Sri Lanka is far from finished. And yet, women stand on the shoulders of the women who came before us. We — seated in this room — are our ancestors' wildest dreams, and we owe it to them to make it possible for those who come after us to live in a world that seems unimaginable to us right now.

Will you be known as a "well‑behaved" leader who never made waves? Or will you be remembered as a woman who used your privilege to open doors for women who have less power than you have?

And let your voice echo beyond this room — into your homes, your workplaces, your policies, and your communities.