6 November 2023

WiN UK connect with the Nuclear Sectors EDI Delivery Leads

Last month Women In Nuclear (WiN) hosted a workshop in London to connect WiN UK with the EDI Delivery Leads across the Nuclear sector. Delivery leads in attendance were from; NUVIA, NNL, AWE, UKAEA, EDF, Westing House, Atkins Global, Nuclear Waste Services, Arcadis, Magnox, Accenture, NDA, and Rolls Royce SMR to name a few. Special thanks to the organisers of the event Elina Militello Asp (UKAEA) & Selvin Roberts (EDF), newly appointed in their joint role as WiN UK Network Executive.

The session provided an opportunity for WiN and EDI Delivery Leads to network and understand how we can maximise benefits to the sector by working together. WiN gave an introduction and a great overview of what each of the regional branches is working on. This allowed the EDI Delivery Leads to learn more about the regional activities and how to support the #PushForChange agenda. Phoebe Lynch from Magnox exclaimed, “It was great to hear about the things happening within WIN regions and centrally… lots of things discussed that sparked my interest and great to hear about some of the wonderful WIN initiatives and exciting future opportunities!”

Regional activities include getting out and about to local schools & events, An Audience with Siân Butler (former AWE Executive), Nuclear Connection Science Fair, including a STEM poster design competition for secondary school children (see attached poster), Stemazing Inspiration Academy & MenoHub. Check out the website for more on these amazing activities across the regions and future events.

Leanne Cowie, WIN UK Strategy Director presented the WiN Strategy which gave a flavour of what WiN UK have been working on and pushing forward. The plan is for a series of events with CEOs, HR & EDI professionals so keep your eyes peeled for these or join the WiN UK team as an ambassador. Leanne shared that WiN UK had launched a non-executive Director (NED) program this year for the first time and plans to develop this further following the initial launch. Whilst applications are closed for this year, you can register your interest as a mentor or sponsoring business, please contact Sarah Macdonald c/o info@winuk.org.uk

WiN UK let us in on a secret, for details about an exciting future event in 2025 which is going to be HUGE! Watch on WIN UK’s webpage for further information about this next year!

Olga Tolmachova provided a MAP (measure, analyse, plan) tool overview which is available to all companies from WiN UK. This helps measure the gender pay over the last 5 years and projection of the gender balance, WiN UK assist in analysing the companies’ data and plan/help prioritise gender balance initiatives. Following this WiN provides a report summarising findings and suggests actions.

Amy Shelton provided details of support from WiN on their web portal to access the ‘WiN  Leadership programme’ developed in conjunction with Lindsay Sedwards and Julianne Antrobus. The leadership development tool gives you access to an online portal to various resources to support your development.  This learning platform has been designed for you, with the aim of deepening, enhancing, or igniting your leadership development path and brings together the best of the best in terms of people and materials to provide flexible support to the leadership training and programmes that members already have access to. This is available to all WiN members. The great thing is it’s available to anyone (if you are a member). You don’t have to be a leader, developing skills for the future is available to you now.

After the morning session, Mary Erlund, NNL said, “I valued getting a better understanding of just how much everyone in WiN is doing at both a grassroots and strategic level.” In addition, the general takeaways from the session were; let’s spread the word about all the amazing things WiN UK is up to, there are so many resources available to us through WiN UK and equipping our managers well will ultimately support a change in this area.

The workshops in the afternoon covered three areas in separate breakout spaces for tangible action as detailed below:
• Gender balance in the Nuclear Sector; improving gender balance and how can this be achieved.
• Pushing for Change – exchanging best practices and successful initiatives
• Headtorch – Fit to Lead.

The workshops led to vibrant discussions focussing on different subjects like reverse mentoring, skills-based recruiting, sector-wide collaborations and sharing of policies as WiN Charter Signatories. It was also agreed that to make the Nuclear Sector more attractive, we need to change the narrative. Rather than concentrating on how few women there are in nuclear, we should start celebrating the successes, small wins, and role models. This will promote nuclear as an exciting sector where women and everyone else can see themselves thrive!

Headtorch during the Fit to Lead session showed a series of short films of a scenario depicting how poor leadership can influence someone’s confidence and mental health, what to do to restore it and had a discussion around this. One of the participants praised it as a “Very good session with Headtorch – very thought provoking especially the stress curve as everyone could relate to that immediately.”

At the end of the day, Ghinwa Yaghy, NNL, said “Thank you Elina and Selvin for a wonderful day! It was amazing getting to meet such energetic and driven women and men from across the nuclear sector and learning about what WiN is doing at the strategic level!”.  Rashad Husain, UKAEA, added “Thank you Elina and Selvin for organising and hosting this event. It was great to hear what other regions are doing and meet some incredible people.”

Tom Jones, Richard Fearnside and Olivia Wilkes were at the WiN breakfast the same morning, here is what Olivia had to say following the event; ‘My time at the Women in Nuclear CEO breakfast was incredibly inspiring and thought-provoking. The event featured engaging talks from Andrew Bowie MP, The Minister for Nuclear and Networks, who spoke about the need to ensure we attract, keep and nurture female talent in the nuclear sector. Other guest speakers included prominent female leaders in our industry such as Gwen Parry Jones, Interim CEO for Great British Nuclear, who shed light on their remarkable journeys in their nuclear careers.

What truly stood out was the round table discussions, where we participated in a dynamic conversation about enhancing networking opportunities for women. It was inspiring to see the genuine commitment of the participants at our table to promote inclusivity and provide women with more accessible pathways to connect, learn, and thrive. This event reinforced the importance of fostering a supportive community and empowering women in nuclear, and I am eager to contribute to these efforts moving forward.’

#PushForChange

Get in touch

If you’d like to find out more or raise a matter of concern, fill in the form below, and a member of our team will contact you.