By KKR Inclusion Network Apr 06, 2022

At KKR, we believe that gender equality is an economic imperative. In celebration of Women’s History Month during the month of March and International Women’s Day, recognized on March 8th, the Inclusion Network invited colleagues from around the world to a series of events that highlighted and built awareness of the vital role of women in our global community.

This year, in keeping with our theme of “Meet the Moment,” which formally kicked off in February for Black History Month, the events highlighted women leaders who are engaged in work that aims to build and sustain a more equitable and inclusive society. The discussions were an opportunity to learn from influential women across industries, and from each other, as we celebrate their achievements and build our understanding of how we can support these efforts as active allies.

• In honor of International Women’s Day, we convened a special KKR Conversation featuring three remarkable Afghan women: award-winning Afghan-born BBC journalist Yalda Hakim; Afghan Future Fund Managing Director and World Bank executive Arezo Kohestany; and Negina Khalil, who was the first woman to serve as top prosecutor in her province before having to flee Afghanistan last summer. There is sadly nowhere in the world where women’s rights have suffered a more catastrophic reversal over the last year than Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of that country. The panel discussion provided a way to learn more about the tragic situation inside Afghanistan, the ongoing courageous efforts of Afghan women to demand their rights, and what we can do to support Afghan women in this struggle.
• To celebrate the #BreakTheBias theme for International Women’s Day, offices across the globe gathered in person or virtually to discuss the biases they think need breaking and what each of us can do to affect change.
• Mary Dillon, Chair Person of the Board of Directors and former CEO of Ulta Beauty, and a member of KKR’s Board of Directors, joined Raj Agrawal for a KKR Conversation to share lessons learned throughout her 30-year career leading consumer-driven brands. Ms. Dillon discussed her upbringing and non-traditional path and how that shaped her career and style of leadership.

In addition to the above, employees received a 2:1 matching opportunity for select organizations whose mission and purpose is directly tied to supporting and empowering women or women-led organizations.

Thank you to everyone who shared their voices in conversations across the firm. We are grateful for the passion and commitment you have to speak up for those inside and outside of your networks.