Background
Nuclear security has been and continues to be a male-dominated field. Comprising less than 20% of the nuclear workforce and even less than 5% in specific areas of nuclear security like cyber, women are significantly underrepresented. In the nuclear security space – and in the broader nuclear sector – women are recruited less, paid less, promoted less, mentored less.
In an effort to provide organisations with actionable steps that will result in measurable and impactful results, WINS has published an International Best Practice Guide funded by the Government of the Kingdom of Norway on Advancing Gender Parity in Nuclear Security. Like security by design, gender parity cannot come as an afterthought or add-on. It must be incorporated at the onset.
This International Best Practice Guide asks the reader: if not, why not? If as an organisation, you have not reassessed your definition of competence, why not? If as an organisation, you have not measured where the women are and how much they are paid relative to the men in your organisation, why not? This type of question is both direct and rhetorical. Each of the best practices in this guide are intended to prompt you to re-examine your position, realign your policies with your priorities, and redirect your focus towards actionable and impactful change.
Our collective focus is then not on how we got here (lack of parity), but where we are headed (parity).
WINS Gender Programme
WINS Gender Programme is committed to highlighting the need for gender parity in the hiring, retention, promotion and recognition of the expertise of women in nuclear security, especially in those areas where women are significantly underrepresented so that:
- Employers in the sector are supportive of and inclusive of women from trainee level to board members and senior executive ranks;
- Women pursue nuclear security as a career;
- Women gain certification in nuclear security to support their careers;
- Women are active as experts and opinion leaders in the sector;
- Women are promoted and recognised based on their expert contribution to the discipline.
Objectives
The objective of this webinar was to discuss and demonstrate the importance of best practices in advancing gender parity in nuclear security, including opportunities, lessons learned and the way forward from a first-person point of view.
The webinar was facilitated by Rhonda Evans, Lead for the WINS Gender Champions Programme. Our special guests for the webinar included:
- H.E. Ms Kjersti Andersen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Norway to the International Organisations in Vienna;
- Mr Lars van Dassen, Executive Director of WINS;
- Mr Duncan Worsell, MBE, Chief Superintendent UK Civil Nuclear Constabulary;
- Ms Margaryta Rayets, Women in Nuclear, Ukraine.
The event also featured video vignettes and recorded messages made by guests - who had attended our previous webinars on Gender and Nuclear Security from all over the world - and WINS staff.
Process
Date: Tuesday, 23 March 2021 from 16:00-17:00 (CET)
Duration: 60 minutes
Language: English
Recording: The webinar recording is available here.
Reference Materials
The Special Report on Gender and Nuclear Security
The revamped WINS gender webpages can be accessed here.
If you have any questions, please contact: Mehri.Avlyakulova@wins.org
