NAWA Study Finds Women Actuaries Report Discrimination Twice as Often

The Network of Actuarial Women and Allies released a study on October 28 that found 48% of credentialed women actuaries had experienced gender discrimination or knew someone who had, against 21% of men, with the share among women rising from 29% before associateship to 61% at the highest career levels.

The study, "Shaping Success: Women's Experiences Across the Actuarial Journey," was conducted by C+R Research and sponsored by NAWA with the American Academy of Actuaries, the Casualty Actuarial Society and the Society of Actuaries, the CAS said in a release. It follows women through three stages: discovering the profession, persisting through the exams and advancing in a career.

C+R fielded a 15-minute online survey from January 20 to February 17, 2026, and 3,509 U.S.-based respondents completed it, according to the methodology appendix of the full report. Two three-day asynchronous online immersions, seven webcam group discussions and six one-on-one interviews supplied the qualitative material, which the report labels exploratory and not projectable. Quantitative comparisons use 95% confidence testing; bases under 50 are flagged and results under 30 are not shown.

The report cites SOA and CAS demographic data showing women's representation in the profession rose from 20% in the 1980s to roughly one-third by the early 2010s, with progress slowing since.

Key Takeaways

Familiarity is the gap: 15% of first- and second-year college women knew the profession against 24% of men; among familiar students and STEM professionals, 60% and 61% would consider it.
Among lapsed candidates, insufficient study time was cited by 44% of women and 16% of men, on bases the report flags as under 50.
Interest in a higher-level role ran 57% for women against 68% for men among credentialed actuaries below high-level roles; overload was the main reason given for no interest.
Reports of gender discrimination among women climb from 29% before associateship to 61% at high level, and the report says the gaps hold after controlling for years of experience.
School mentors and professionals were the top first source of awareness for credentialed actuaries at 48%, but only 34% of women of color reached the profession that way.

Five groups in the sample

The quantitative sample breaks into five groups, which the report's source guide says are not mutually exclusive because some current candidates also hold an associateship:

617 college first- and second-years with advanced math exposure or a STEM interest and no actuarial exams;
502 STEM professionals aged 24 to 45 with three or more years full time in an eligible occupation;
1,280 current candidates pursuing an associateship or fellowship;
72 lapsed candidates who had attempted exams, hold no credential and are no longer pursuing an associateship;
1,365 credentialed actuaries, including 184 high-level professionals.

At 72 respondents the lapsed group is the smallest, and the persistence findings rest on it.

Discovery and the impact story

Among 300 women and 300 men in the college group, 15% of women and 24% of men said they were very or somewhat familiar with the actuarial career, according to the report. Among college students and STEM professionals who were familiar, 60% of women (149 respondents) and 61% of men (177) said they would consider it.

The women in the sample also weighted impact more heavily. Among college women, 61% said making a positive impact is very influential in their career choice, against 47% of college men, yet only 21% of the college students asked (116 respondents) and 19% of STEM professionals (151) associated actuarial work with positive impact.

Schools are the channel the report says already works. School advisors were rated very helpful for career exploration by 47% of women and 35% of men, and mentors by 40% of women and 32% of men; 43% of women with a mentor said the mentor was school-related. Among credentialed actuaries, 48% first heard about actuarial work through school mentors and professionals, the top source, with family and friends second at 32%. Women cited the school channel at 45% (597 respondents) and men at 50% (759), but only 34% of women of color (134 respondents) did.

The exam stage

Among lapsed candidates, 74% of the 39 women and 56% of the 32 men cited the exams as a reason for leaving, an 18-point gap the report marks as directional rather than statistically significant. On insufficient study time the gap is 28 points, 44% of women against 16% of men, and the report does not apply the directional flag, though both bases sit under 50.

The qualitative work sorted what women carry alongside the exams into three groups: gendered sacrifices (social life, family timing, caregiving and work-life responsibilities), support gaps (few female mentors, limited camaraderie, informal male-dominant networking) and an emotional toll (burnout, anxiety around failure, feeling behind peers, imposter syndrome). One credentialed actuary told the researchers she stopped sitting exams while her children were small and that her manager "acted like I should have all of that figured out before having kids."

Asked what would help them persist, women named three things: normalizing the journey by sharing retake stories and non-linear paths, building community through peer cohorts and visible role models, and reducing structural friction by protecting study time and providing schedule flexibility. "Maintaining the rigor of actuarial credentials and supporting candidates throughout the examination process are not mutually exclusive," said Amber Rohde, FCAS, cofounder and board member of NAWA, in the release.

Advancement by career stage

Among credentialed actuaries not yet in high-level roles, 57% of women (519 respondents) and 68% of men (635) expressed any interest in a higher-level role. Among those who were not interested, 46% of women and 33% of men cited work and personal-life overload.

Among credentialed actuaries who had pursued a high-level role but were not in one (88 women, 142 men), 69% of women and 55% of men said they encountered cultural challenges, and 67% of women and 51% of men cited family-life challenges. Within the cultural group, 28% of women and 13% of men said they had to work harder to prove themselves, 23% and 1% cited navigating male-dominated high-level roles, 19% and 6% reported subtle unwelcoming behaviors, and 19% and 10% reported exclusion from informal networks.

The discrimination questions asked whether respondents had experienced gender or family-life discrimination or knew someone who had, and the report says both gaps hold when controlling for years of experience.

Career stage	Gender discrimination, women	Gender discrimination, men	Family-life discrimination, women	Family-life discrimination, men	Base (women / men)
Pre-associateship	29%	14%	19%	13%	225 / 239
Associateship	42%	23%	33%	14%	201 / 287
Fellowship	51%	20%	41%	20%	391 / 459
High level	61%	26%	51%	24%	71 / 110
All credentialed actuaries	48%	21%	39%	17%	592 / 746

Sources: C+R Research, NAWA Shaping Success Study (2026), pages 20 and 21. Share agreeing completely or somewhat that they had experienced the discrimination or knew someone who had. The report marks the pre-associateship differences as directional rather than statistically significant.

The report says part-time, remote and hybrid work can support progression but are not always accepted or championed, and that reduced exposure to decision-makers can limit recognition and assignments. Its qualitative section groups the advancement barriers as a work-life penalty, a culture tax and an advocacy gap.

Three actions and NAWA's next steps

The release lists three opportunities for action. The first, aimed at school professionals, mentors and actuaries, is to make the profession visible: introduce the career and credential path earlier, connect the work to real-world decisions, and create job shadows, projects and internships.

The second, aimed at employers, credentialing organizations and support networks, is to help candidates persist: protect promised study time, adapt exam support across life stages, share retake stories and build peer cohorts. The third, aimed at leaders, managers and sponsors, is to expand access to opportunity: recommend people for stretch work and leadership exposure, make flexibility usable without reducing visibility, and challenge bias in assignments, evaluations and promotion decisions.

NAWA says it will follow the report with programs, tools and partnerships; the methodology appendix cites C+R's final report dated May 28, 2026. "No single organization can address every point in this journey," Rohde said. "Educators, employers, credentialing organizations, managers, mentors, sponsors, advocates, allies, and actuaries all have a role."