Lack of women in nuclear an 'existential challenge for the sector'

Women are eager to advance in the nuclear sector however the current recruitment, attrition and promotion rates are insufficient to significantly improve gender balance in the sector.

Also, a lack of flexible work practices for those with family responsibilities and gender stereotyping are preventing the nuclear power sector from attracting the female talent needed for sustainable growth.

These were some of the key findings of a report released by the OECD Nuclear Energy Association, Gender Balance in the Nuclear Sector, touted as the first publicly available global data on gender balance in the nuclear sector.

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Dr Fiona Rayment, chief science and technology officer of the United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory and chair of the NEA Task Group that conducted the study, said: "With the ever-increasing importance of energy security while minimising carbon emissions, a solution including nuclear energy is receiving greater focus.

"Meeting these challenges requires a broad range of skills that can be delivered through a neuro-diverse workforce, and creating gender balance across the international nuclear sector is a key element in achieving this.

"My hope is that this report enables the sector to have a springboard to move to greater gender balance in the years ahead driving the neurodiversity the sector is craving."

The NEA report shows some troubling statistics.

Nearly half the women surveyed in the nuclear energy sector have experienced or heard accounts of gender bias and sexual harassment at work.

Also, according to surveyed data sets, women are paid less and feel as though they lack female role models, which makes it harder for the sector to attract more female talent.

The report highlights that despite the critical contributions of women around the world, only 24.9% of the nuclear sector workforce in NEA countries is female.

The number of women in the sector who serve in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and leadership roles are lower still, representing a loss of innovation and a threat to the viability of the field.

William D. Magwood, IV, Director-General of the Nuclear Energy Agency, said: “The fact that so few women enter nuclear science and technology fields and fewer still climb to leadership roles is a terrible loss of a resource that is desperately needed.

"The lack of women in the nuclear field, in my view, is an existential challenge for the sector.”

Despite the challenges, the majority of women surveyed said that they would encourage other women to pursue a career in the nuclear sector, a positive sign for a sector struggling to attract and retain more female talent.