Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) – Women of the NEA: Highlighting current and future role models

Source Domain: www.oecd-nea.org

Career paths are rarely linear progressions. They are often shaped by the twists and turns of life, leading to new countries, sectors and roles. However, they can also be hindered by structural barriers in a sector, intended and not.

Ongoing research by the NEA High Level Group on Gender Balance suggests that professionals in the nuclear sector may face specific challenges based on gender. Considering that “…women constitute only 24.9% of the nuclear workforce today, with even lower representation in STEM (20.6%) and senior leadership roles (18.3%),” as found in the NEA Working Paper Best Practices to Retain and Support Women in the Nuclear Sector (2025), continuous efforts should be made to increase the participation of women in nuclear science and technology.

The NEA is supporting its member countries as they achieve that change. Part of the work involves increasing the visibility of female role models. In fact, the NEA publication Gender Balance in the Nuclear Sector, which was based on a broad data collection effort across member countries, found that role models are “significant for attracting and recruiting other women.” It also found that “…a lack of role models and women in leadership roles, as shown in both the human resource and individual surveys, may have a long-term negative impact on developing and advancing women from more junior roles.”

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, on 8 March, the NEA has taken the opportunity to highlight the career paths of some of the women working with the Agency.

The paths that led them to join the nuclear sector are varied. For some, it was an opportunity to serve their home country, while for others it was a result of the academic interests they had pursued. The range of their experiences has enabled each of these people to bring a unique perspective.

Like Alexia Mercer, who holds degrees in both humanities and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)…

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