“Data is essential. It shines a light on imbalances and spurs action. The NEA is ideally placed to work centrally with governments and stakeholders to ensure that data is available and collected consistently and fairly.”

– Dr Fiona Rayment, Chair of the NEA High-Level Group on Improving the Gender Balance in the Nuclear Sector

Background

In June 2023, the OECD Ministerial Council adopted the Recommendation on Improving the Gender Balance in the Nuclear Sector. This international policy instrument represents a high political commitment by adhering countries to implement a series of recommendations to attract women into the nuclear sector; to retain and support women in the nuclear workforce; to advance and develop women as leaders in the sector and to enhance their contributions; and to track progress through data and establish accountability mechanisms, including public goal setting and reporting.

The Recommendation was based on the first-ever international data on women’s representation in the nuclear field published by the NEA in March 2023 in the report Gender Balance in the Nuclear Sector. 96 organisations in 17 countries provided detailed human resources statistics and 8 000 women in 32 countries answered a survey about their nuclear workplace experiences.

About the nuclear regulatory body initiative

The NEA is partnering with the Nuclear Regulators for Gender Equity (NRGE) to collect data and develop tailored guidance for participating regulatory bodies from around the world to improve their gender balance. This initiative sets an example of regulatory leadership to take stock, set goals, and establish accountability.

Data collection is launching in autumn 2024. Participating nuclear regulatory bodies will receive data summaries for their organisation and recommendations. An overview of the gender balance data trends for nuclear regulators in aggregate will be published in late 2025.

What kind of data will be collected and how will it be handled?

The NEA will use survey instruments developed for its 2023 report Gender Balance in the Nuclear Sector (see the annexes to the report) modified for this nuclear regulatory initiative. Participating organisations will be asked to provide gender-disaggregated human resources data to the NEA and to send a survey link to employees of all genders. The employee survey will be conducted by the NEA.

All data collected will be handled by the NEA according to the highest data protection standards of the OECD. Participating organisations will receive a summary of organisational-level results. It will be at the discretion of the organisation to publish these organisational-level trends. The NEA report will capture aggregate trends across the sample of participating regulatory bodies in a manner similar to the 2023 report.

How can my nuclear regulatory organisation participate?

NEA and non-NEA member countries are welcome to participate. Please contact the NEA at gender@oecd-nea.org.