The IFoA Women Actuaries Community Committee introduce themselves and their ongoing work
This community has been set up to support women Actuaries and their allies with opportunities to meet role models, hear from experienced panels, boost career progress, build networks and give back to the profession. Launched last year, as part of the celebration of 100 years of women actuaries, the Women Actuaries Community has already become a friendly space where sharing ideas, advice, and encouragement feels natural, giving a greater sense of belonging. The initiative aligns with the IFoA’s strategic efforts to create a genuinely inclusive and accessible profession.
Behind the scenes, dedicated volunteers invest their own time to bring the community aim: “provide a supportive and empowering network for women actuaries and allies” to life: Abigail Takyi, Aili Chee, Ekta Mehta Sanghvi, Gabriella Verghese, Justine Jefferies, Kim Chimsasa, Laura Curtis, Meghna Sharma, Natalie Breslin, Sanskriti Agarwat, Saroja Gunatilleke, Thabooja Sathiapa. The committee would also like to thank Judith Tang for the support she provides. In addition, five volunteers have taken the reins of our workstreams: Clara Hughes, Jelena Strelets, Susannah Holt, Rhian Price, and Uzma Nazir. Here’s a bit about each workstream lead and what they focus on.
Clara is Head of AI & Analytics at Pension Insurance Corporation. Spurred on by a collective belief that celebrating women’s achievements in the profession and building a safe community space was essential to the evolution of the profession, Clara, Kalpana Shah and Kartina Tahir Thomson worked together to establish the Women Actuaries Community bringing that vision to life. Excellent attendance at events, enthusiastic feedback and an active online community have been proof of the huge appetite for the initiative.
As well as her technical excellence, Jelena has a passion for helping others. She looks after the Communications workstream, handling LinkedIn, posts for the community, and keeping everyone in the loop. Jelena is a keen mentor, offering support both formally and informally - helping women in the profession build confidence, tackle tricky situations, and develop new skills. Her approachable style makes people feel supported and encouraged.
Susannah has been involved with both the Citi and Barclays Women’s Networks. She leads the Events workstream, organising a range of events including our inaugural International Women’s Day event, informal networking events and webinars. Susannah’s focus is to provide opportunities to network and access to role models within the actuarial profession.
Rhian co-founded the Just Group Women’s Network. She co-chairs the ‘Recruit & Retain’ workstream with Uzma, focusing on helping women join the profession - and encouraging them to stick around (and get involved!). Rhian is passionate about making sure women have visible, relatable role models; “if you can see it, you can be it”, and ensuring there is career support for every stage of life’s journey.
Uzma was part of the founding team that started the Actuarial Mentoring Programme supported by the IFoA, which matches mentors and mentees across the industry. She is keen to give back to women in the profession and her practical approach shapes mentoring and support initiatives that actually work in the real world!
Along with Rhian, Uzma aims to bring new faces into the profession and help them feel at home. They strongly believe in having an inclusive profession that attracts the best people, regardless of their background.
In our first year, we’ve hosted a bunch of busy exciting events giving the opportunity for people to swap stories, pick up advice, make new connections, and have fun. Follow us (along with nearly 1000 others!) on LinkedIn for the latest updates or find us on IFoA Communities.
Looking ahead, there’s lots of energy for trying out new ideas and making sure the community stays relevant and welcoming, so please get in touch if there’s things you’d like to see! All actuaries, including allies, are welcome at our events. Coming up we have a webinar on neurodiversity and a plan to look at the evolution of various statistics on women in our profession– we are actuaries after all!
The workplace isn’t a zero-sum game, and we’d like to support all actuaries by building out initiatives that benefit everyone, elevating actuaries collectively, whether it’s through mentoring, events, or just having someone to talk to. This network is designed to help everyone build careers - and friendships - that last.
