At the end of each year, I love to reflect on everything that's happened in both my personal and professional life. I'm always amazed at how many things have happened during the last 365 days.

If this isn't a regular practice for you, I highly recommend it. Take some time to notice what has happened, where you've changed your mind, and to celebrate what you've accomplished!

In this spirit, for today's newsletter, I'm going to share my own 2025 year in review, since so many of you were a key part of it.

Let's dive in…

Changes in the job market

The first thing to note was that job cut announcements hit the highest levels since 2020, due to restructuring, AI and economic pressures.

In terms of the actual numbers, over 1.1 million job cuts were announced in the U.S.! This was driven heavily by the tech sector (around 200k+) and massive U.S. Federal Government workforce reductions (hundreds of thousands), as well as significant cuts in warehousing, retail, and other industries.

This is important because many of you have felt this change and may even be fearful for your own job. I've spoken to clients who are miserable at work, but afraid to leave amid so much uncertainty in the market.

Not to mention…

DEI rollbacks

It wasn't all that long ago that my clients were messaging me, freaking out, because of the announcement of DEI rollbacks from companies like Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce.

Many women were wondering what this means for us, and whether our opportunities for leadership were at risk.

My response (the same way I feel today) is that the companies that truly cared still care, and the ones who never did still don't. But it's a great reminder that relying on a DEI policy to get that seat at the table is not a good strategy. Instead, you want to set yourself up as the no-brainer choice regardless of gender.

I2A Updates

When I think about all of the changes in the business, it kind of blows my mind. Here are some of the big ‘firsts' from this year:

March: We launched the More Women Promoted Podcast!

And thanks to all of your support, we hit #9 in the US and #3 in Canada in our category! We've just started Season 2, so if you haven't tuned in, this is your sign 😉

I won Ottawa's Career Coach of the Year! This was a great surprise, as I have no idea who nominated me 🙂

April: I hosted the first community retreat in Mexico

10 women in paradise, rediscovering their best selves. What can I say? It was pretty damn life-changing.

Visualizing big, bold futures – such powerful work!

Can you even have a retreat without some kind of burning ceremony?

June: I hit 100K followers on LinkedIn

This blew me away. For context, when I first started posting at the beginning of 2022, my big, ambitious goal for the year was to hit 5K followers. Wow.

August: Hosted Own The Room – my first in-person summit in Toronto, Canada

We had 50 amazing women in the room for a day of workshops, networking, and true growth and connection. Many of you told me it was the best leadership event you had ever been to! Psst… mark your calendar for Oct 2026 in Ottawa 🙂

And the best business update of all:

This year, we helped 111 new women get VP-ready through the Own Your Seat at the Table program, and over 20 women in our community landed new roles, including promotions to Director, Sr. Director and VP roles!

Personal
Many of you know that I also had some changes in my personal life!!
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I got married to the love of my life in November, and the month before that, we moved into our dream home. I am beyond grateful for all of it…

Why I'm feeling hopeful for women

Let's face it, between layoffs and rollbacks, many of you have been feeling uncertain, but I'm feeling hopeful! Do you know why?

Despite the job market, the negative focus on DEI, and everything else happening in the world, I get messages from the women in my community all the time about promotions, raises and opportunities they never thought were possible.

Here's the truth: Great leadership will never be outsourced, and it will never be replaced by AI. The world needs great leaders, so don't give up on your goals. Because chances are, you are exactly what the world needs.

I can't wait to see what's in store for 2026! No doubt, more success for all of the amazing women in the Own Your Seat community. I look forward to continuing to support many of you.

Have a beautiful holiday season.

Until next time friends… ✌️💜

Katy