Our People

Angela Huang is VP and Head of Actuarial Services, Corporate Finance at New York Life Insurance Company. She recently won a Working Mother of the Year award from Working Mother as part of this 2019’s Working Mother 100 Best Companies Awards. Check out what she has to say about being a working mom—addressing the trials and tribulations many of us face.

I’m extremely honored to be a recipient of this prestigious award.  I was in disbelief when I received the call because I admittedly struggle at managing my time as a working mother and have certainly not mastered the art.  Growing up as the youngest of three girls, I witnessed an amazing stay-at-home mother, who handled everything from simple home repairs to distinct homemade meals every night of the week.  I knew I wanted to provide a similar experience for my kids (Owen is 9 and Oliver is 7) as a professional working mother.  It was an ideal that I hung on to and aggressively managed my time to fulfill.  

However, as my two boys reached school age and with a husband whose work travel seems to have inconveniently increased, the ideal fell victim to basic arithmetic.  There simply are not enough hours in a day and it stubbornly took me longer than practical to admit to what felt like my failures.  Like all working mothers, I wanted to (and believed I can) do everything – grow a career, make home-cooked meals, chaperone field trips, attend recitals etc.  But the fact is, I couldn’t, and I had to compromise (not give up) on some of these ideals.  For example, although it frustrates me to order take-out food, it gives me priceless time with my boys--whether it is story time or a board game before bedtime.  

The secret is in compromise.  These humbling experiences as a working mom have made me better at my work.  I’ve improved in multi-tasking, prioritizing and compromising when faced with resource constraints.  And vice versa, a growing career has made me a better mom.  My boys recognize the value of time and are more appreciative and grateful for meals I prepare and school events that I or my husband attend.  I am super proud to have raised (for now) a couple of understanding, independent, resourceful, helpful and caring kids.  Even though this is a working mother’s award, I very much feel like it is a working parents award.  I am very fortunate to have a supportive and accommodating husband who often flexes his schedule around mine to handle childcare duties.  And without any help or relatives within a few thousand miles, our motto is — we’ll make it work, whatever it takes.  So far so good; although, I smell compromise in the future.