Background
World Institute for Nuclear Security organised an international roundtable on Gender and Nuclear Security from 28-29 May 2019 in Vienna, Austria.
Introduction
International research into gender equality and participation of women in the workforce has consistently shown that a diverse and inclusive workforce is better for everyone: shareholders, stakeholders and society in general.
WINS Strategic Objective 10 reflects the desire for a profession that is diverse and inclusive and reflects the full participation of women and men in nuclear sector.
SO 10: High quality professional development programmes that incorporate ISO standards guidance and focus on promoting an inclusive and diverse nuclear security profession are the norm in the sector.
Like WINS other nine strategic objectives, this is a call to action for the rest of the sector, rather than an objective that WINS can achieve on its own.
WINS is committed to highlighting the need for gender parity in the hiring, retention, promotion and recognition of the expertise of women in the field of nuclear security and aims to increase the participation of women in nuclear security at all levels by promoting knowledge exchange, training and professional certification. Efforts to increase the participation of women in this field require dedicated actions with clear and measurable outcomes.
Purposes
The purpose of this roundtable was to share best practices and ways forward do advance and amplify the role of women in nuclear security at all levels, with the result 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.
Audience
The roundtable comprised 15 invited international experts from the nuclear sector and relevant fields. It was professionally facilitated, and a report was prepared on its findings.
