On March 26, the session Women's Leadership in the Development of High Technologies and Innovations was held on the sidelines of the ATOMEXPO-2024 International Forum. It brought together representatives of business, universities, and women's associations from Russia, Egypt, Indonesia, South Africa, Serbia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The main topic of discussion was the underrepresentation of women in high technology and innovation and possible ways to overcome this situation. The session was moderated by Alexandra Ryabykh, co-founder of the Foundation Support and Development of Women's Initiatives "Association of Women in the Nuclear Industry".
During the session, Tatiana Terentyeva, Deputy Director General for HR of ROSATOM, made a welcoming speech, noting that the support and development of women is one of the priorities of ROSATOM's personnel policy. In this area, ROSATOM is in constant dialog with foreign partners, sharing experience. "At ROSATOM, 32% of employees are women, whereas in the global nuclear industry these figures are lower – 26%," she stressed. – Many of our women work in senior positions, develop new businesses, head key divisions, major nuclear power plant construction projects and contribute to the development of smart cities. ROSATOM's women are also well represented in science: 35% of them are in the organizations of the scientific division." Tatiana Terentyeva also emphasized that, according to research data, teams in which both men and women are represented work more efficiently, respond better to new challenges and improve the financial performance of businesses. Balanced teams are the key to the sustainable development of companies, countries and the world as a whole.
Gulnara Bikkulova, Deputy Director General – Director of the International Initiatives and Partnerships Unit, spoke about ROSATOM's key gender balance initiatives. Among them is the Women of the Nuclear Industry community, which consists of more than 3,000 women specialists and residents of the territories of ROSATOM's presence, a special women's leadership program "[in]Visible Force", which covered 1,500 people last year, measures of social support for women, including those with children. The speaker also focused on ROSATOM's international cooperation in the field of gender balance, which today covers more than 20 countries of the world, including the countries of the Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia, and the African continent.