When Jaya De Silva walks into the office at Sekuro, she doesn’t leave her mother behind. Not literally, of course. But the quiet strength, the unspoken discipline, the fierce tenderness—those are all still with her. On May 21, 2025, Women in Digital published a heartfelt Mother’s Day profile that didn’t just celebrate a working mom—it revealed how a single nurse in Sydney’s Hills District built a legacy that now echoes through a corporate boardroom.
What She Didn’t Say, But Showed Every Day
Jaya’s mother didn’t give pep talks about resilience. She didn’t post affirmations on the fridge. What she did was wake up before dawn, nurse patients through night shifts, come home exhausted, and still make sure her two kids had clean socks, hot meals, and bedtime stories. "These weren’t things she told us," Jaya recalls. "They were things she showed us every day." That’s the difference between teaching and embodying. Her mother modeled unconditional love not through words, but through presence. Self-love? That came in the way she refused to apologize for needing rest. Hard work? It was the way she took double shifts without complaint, even when her feet swelled and her back ached. And community giving? She’d bring home extra hospital meals for neighbors who couldn’t afford groceries. No fanfare. No social media posts. Just quiet, relentless care.From Hills District to Corporate Leadership
Raised in the suburban sprawl of Sydney’s Hills District, Jaya learned early that leadership isn’t about titles—it’s about showing up. She didn’t grow up with luxury or privilege. What she had was a mother who turned scarcity into strength. Now, as a senior leader at Sekuro, she brings that same ethos to her team. "At my core, I’m a maternal person," she says. "And that doesn’t switch off when I go to work." Her colleagues describe her as warm, wise, and deeply grounded—traits that don’t always align with traditional corporate archetypes. But in a world where burnout is rampant and empathy is often seen as a weakness, Jaya’s approach stands out. She checks in on her team’s kids. She understands that deadlines sometimes bend for school plays or sick children. And she doesn’t see that as a distraction—she sees it as the foundation of trust.Building a Lively Home, One Chaos-Infused Day at a Time
Jaya is now a mother of three girls, all close in age. "It’s loud. It’s messy. It’s glorious," she laughs. Her husband, equally committed to shared parenting, doesn’t just help—he thrives in the chaos. They don’t strive for perfection. They strive for presence. Family dinners are interrupted by spilled juice, homework gets done on the couch with a sibling arguing over the TV remote, and bedtime stories often turn into impromptu dance parties. That energy? It doesn’t stay at home. It spills into her leadership. When a junior employee is struggling, she doesn’t hand out a policy manual. She asks: "What do you need?" When a project hits a wall, she doesn’t demand overtime. She says: "Let’s figure this out together." It’s the same approach her mother used to manage two children on a nurse’s salary—resourceful, compassionate, and unshakably steady.Why This Matters Beyond One Mother’s Day Feature
The Women in Digital feature isn’t just a feel-good story. It’s a quiet rebellion against the myth that professional success requires sacrificing family—or that maternal instincts are incompatible with leadership. In Australia, where Mother’s Day falls on the second Sunday of May, the timing is deliberate. But the message is global. Too many workplaces still treat caregiving as a personal burden, not a leadership asset. Jaya’s story flips that script. Her mother didn’t just raise a child—she raised a leader who redefines what it means to be strong. The ripple effect? Young women in tech and corporate roles are now sharing their own stories—of single parents, of immigrant caregivers, of grandmothers who worked two jobs. Jaya’s voice is becoming part of a chorus. And that chorus is changing how companies think about flexibility, mental health, and the real cost of "work-life balance."What’s Next? The Quiet Revolution Continues
There’s no grand announcement from Sekuro about new parental policies. No press release about "family-first culture." But change is happening anyway—in team meetings where someone mentions their child’s recital without apology, in managers who ask how the kids are doing before diving into KPIs, in the quiet normalization of care as a core leadership value. Jaya doesn’t have a five-year plan. She has a daily practice: show up with heart. That’s the legacy her mother gave her. And now, she’s giving it back—to her daughters, to her team, to anyone who’s ever felt like they had to choose between being a good parent and a good professional.Frequently Asked Questions
How did Jaya De Silva’s mother influence her leadership style at Sekuro?
Jaya’s mother demonstrated leadership through action—not words. Working double shifts as a nurse while raising two children alone, she modeled unconditional love, self-respect, hard work, and community care. Jaya carries these values into her role at Sekuro by prioritizing empathy, psychological safety, and team well-being over rigid performance metrics, proving that maternal instincts enhance, not hinder, professional leadership.
Why is the Sydney Hills District context important to this story?
The Sydney Hills District is a suburban area known for its working-class families and high cost of living, making Jaya’s mother’s ability to raise two children on a nurse’s salary even more remarkable. This context underscores the resilience required to thrive without institutional support, making Jaya’s rise to leadership at Sekuro a powerful testament to what’s possible when care is the foundation—not the obstacle.
What does Jaya mean when she says, ‘My maternal nature doesn’t switch off at work’?
She means her leadership isn’t compartmentalized. Just as she nurtures her three daughters with patience and presence, she approaches her team the same way—listening before directing, offering support before demanding results, and recognizing that people aren’t just employees—they’re whole human beings with lives beyond the office. This isn’t soft leadership; it’s sustainable leadership.
How does this story challenge traditional corporate norms?
Traditional corporate culture often equates professionalism with emotional detachment. Jaya’s story flips that: her emotional intelligence, rooted in motherhood, is her greatest leadership asset. She proves that vulnerability, flexibility, and care aren’t weaknesses—they’re strategic advantages that build loyalty, reduce turnover, and foster innovation in high-pressure environments like tech and digital services.
Is Sekuro known for family-friendly policies?
While Sekuro hasn’t publicly announced formal family policies, Jaya’s leadership role and the tone of her profile suggest a culture that values lived experience over rigid structures. Her presence signals a shift: companies don’t need grand initiatives to support working parents—they need leaders who model compassion, and Jaya is one of them.
What’s the broader significance of this Mother’s Day feature?
The Women in Digital profile isn’t just about Jaya—it’s part of a growing movement to reframe motherhood as a leadership credential. By highlighting how her mother’s quiet strength shaped a corporate leader, the story validates millions of women who juggle caregiving and careers, challenging outdated notions that professional success requires leaving your heart at the door.
