On the second day of the 60th IAEA
General Conference, UAE Ambassador Hamad Alkaabi, Permanent Representative to
the IAEA, together with leading female representatives of the Federal Authority
for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) and the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation
(ENEC) joined the side event ‘Women in All Things Nuclear: Women at the IAEA
over the Last 60 Years’, a forum co-sponsored by the Vienna Center for
Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP).
After being held four years in a row, the round table event focused this year on the evolution of women’s contribution in the nuclear field. Guests and participants discussed the challenges and opportunities that exist for women to enhance the mission of Atoms for Peace and Development.
Ambassador Alkaabi was a keynote speaker at the
event, along with leading female nuclear experts from the UAE nuclear energy
sector. He emphasized the important role that women play in building-up the
highly skilled nuclear workforce in the UAE.
In his speech, Ambassador Alkaabi introduced
participants to the current trend of female professionals joining the nuclear
industry in the UAE. More than twenty percent of the UAE nuclear operator’s
skilled professional staff comprises women; and high percentages of women are
joining nuclear training programs in the UAE.
Today, talented females make up a significant
part of the UAE’s growing workforce, and national entities involved in the UAE
nuclear power programme are taking steps to encourage even more women to join
the country’s nuclear industry.
