In celebration of Women’s History Month, Kathryn Valentine led an Empower Hour for NAWA focused on negotiation from a woman’s perspective. She explained that negotiation extends beyond salary to include flexibility, benefits, and support. Two key principles emerged: take a collaborative, team‑oriented approach and frame your ask by connecting past accomplishments to future goals while inviting feedback. This method reduces perceived risk and fosters authentic, mutually beneficial outcomes.

NAWA officially kicked off on October 7 led by its cofounders. The event featured a panel on active allyship in workplace inclusion. Participants from 20 countries and over 60 companies registered, with 232 attending live. The diverse panel shared personal insights on how allies have shaped their experiences, sparking deep engagement. Attendees also contributed ideas through a community survey that’s guiding NAWA’s future Impact Committees.

Unconscious gender bias, automatic mental associations based on gender, impacts workplace decisions from hiring to promotion. Common patterns like affinity bias, halo effect, perception bias and confirmation bias reinforce stereotypes and can undermine inclusion and performance in the actuarial profession. The author emphasizes that these biases are shaped by culture and habit but can be addressed. Awareness is the first step. Slowing down decision making, discussing bias openly, standardizing processes and speaking up as allies all play a role in creating fairer outcomes for everyone.