The next venue for the seminar-forum on professional development of women in nuclear energy from the public organization WIN Ukraine, SE “Energoatom” and the Trade Union of Atomic Energy and Industry of Ukraine was Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).
The scale of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and the 6th in the world, which is now ZNPP, is impressive, as is the potential of its large number of employees.
According to the T.a. Director General Dmytro Verbytsky, Zaporizhzhya NPP is making qualitative changes, and today the plant employs 3,738 women (out of a total of more than 11,000 employees), which is 33% of the staff, of which
183 women hold senior positions, including senior management.
“The dynamic development of any company in today’s realities is impossible without ensuring equal rights for women and men. The holding of such events is extremely important to achieve this goal. I am confident that today we will make a significant contribution to the implementation of the tasks of Energoatom’s Gender Policy, and I hope for the further development of this platform, “said Mr. Verbytsky.
40 active representatives of almost all divisions of Zaporizhzhya NPP took part in the seminar-forum.
The motivational part of the forum was filled with experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the event partner Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM).
SSM representative Beata Mach supported the participants and expressed hope for fruitful cooperation with Energoatom, which will help strengthen the gender balance in the team and promote the professional development of women in nuclear energy in general.
Peter Frobel, Director of the IAEA Human Resources Department, and Olena Mykolaychuk, Head of the Decommissioning and Environmental Reconstruction Division of the IAEA Department of Nuclear Energy, presented the Agency’s policy on gender parity. They emphasized the professional development of women in the nuclear industry through support programs, such as the implementation of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie IAEA Fellowship Program, and demonstrated the active dynamics of women’s involvement in gender activities over the past 5 years.
During the event, representatives and experts of WIN Ukraine conducted interactive surveys among participants on a real understanding of the concept of gender and raised the problematic issues that exist in Ukraine in the nuclear field and possible ways to overcome them.
“The mission of WIN Ukraine is to unite industry professionals despite the existing stereotypes that the nuclear industry is purely male, as well as to promote gender balance in line with the modern world trends. The scale of Zaporizhzhya NPP assumes a similar scale of the way to achieve the “golden” gender balance. However, today we see a strong proactive position of the station’s management, the Atomic Trade Union and the Ambassadors who support this movement. We also managed to establish a dialogue with nuclear power plants and feel the leadership qualities and desire to develop professionally, “said Natalia Klos, Director of the International Cooperation and Regional Development.
WiN Ukraine expert, woman power engineer, Head of the International and Public Relations Department of State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management – Kateryna Pavlova, addressed her fellow nuclear workers with
encouraging words and examples of world practice of women’s struggle for their rights, as well as stories of her own professional development.
“The balanced involvement of leaders – men and women – is crucial to the types of political, behavioral, environmental and cultural change that are needed to achieve effective gender parity in the nuclear field. And we see how Zaporizhzhya NPP is actively moving towards these changes, listening to the voice of its fellow activists, taking into account all the proposals for further implementation, “she said.
Renata Jaresko, Head of the Public Relations Department of SE “Energoatom”, stressed that without gender balance the successful development of any company is impossible and noted with pleasure that Energoatom pays great attention to increasing the prestige of professions in the nuclear energy.
“We are constantly working with partners, civil society and discussing why this is so important – gender balance and equal career opportunities for women in nuclear. Today, our project covered the third site – Zaporizhzhya NPP, the
largest nuclear power plant in Europe and Ukraine. And I am glad to note that, first of all, gender policy is not a declarative document for the Company, but real actions. Secondly, this project is valuable because the voice of highly
qualified employees (and there are simply no others in the Company) is heard and taken into account. Energoatom is a leader in energy in compliance with gender principles. We must serve as an example in the future, not only in our industry, but for the whole country, “said Ms. Jaresko.
The speeches of the representatives of the Atomic Trade Union and local Ambassadors about the successful implementation of the pilot program for the development of gender parity at the Zaporizhzhya NPP, student and trade union activities in that area were pleasantly impressed.
Business coach Olena Yuzkova spoke about the peculiarities of leadership in the modern world and the role of women in the development of that phenomenon. She conducted a large practical and interactive part for the participants to reveal professional, creative and even business abilities. She stressed that leadership cannot be taught – it comes through action. That is why the format of the event was aimed at trying new actions that had not been done before, where the experts of ZNPP managed to impress not only the guests of the event with their results, but also themselves.
In conclusion, the creative part of the Zaporizhzhya NPP team organized a real music festival, glorifying women, their achievements and opportunities.
“We truly thank all the experts and partners involved for their strong support. We can already see today how the industry is growing in good spirits and unbridled desire for the development of women in nuclear. Therefore – only forward! “, – emphasizes the president of WiN Ukraine Margaryta Rayets.
