WiN President comment: international data on gender balance

Women in Nuclear UK President Ivan Baldwin says a report published today underlines WiN’s compelling case for change in the UK’s nuclear industry.

WiN’s mission is to drive for gender balance in the sector, with an ambitious target of ensuring 40% of the UK nuclear workforce are female by 2030.

The report, by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), uses data from more than 8,000 women in 32 countries and highlights the sector needs to grow and diversify.

Ivan said: “The findings of the report make sobering reading. WiN has long campaigned for the need to attract women into the industry and then work harder to retain them. This report says that current global recruitment, attraction and promotion rates are insufficient if we are to succeed in driving towards net zero emissions.

“The report also highlights a lack of female role models. One way WiN is trying to combat this is to engage with our sector to provide a balanced perspective of working in the nuclear industry. We believe in the power of dialogue to encourage those outside our industry to consider it a great career choice.”

NEA says that nuclear energy production needs to triple around the world to meet net zero emissions and more women are needed to help meet that goal.

Ivan added: “We know that if we want to encourage more women into nuclear, the sector should consider flexible working practices and ensuring equality of promotion and reward. This is one reason why we developed our industry charter to allow companies to sign up and pledge their commitment to diversity.”

WiN UK has more than 1,000 active members and a number of high-profile industry partners and sponsors all committed to gender balance.