The civil nuclear energy sector will need to grow and diversify its workforce as it seeks to triple production by 2050, but that will be difficult to achieve unless it attracts more women, a new Nuclear Energy Agency report released to coincide with International Women’s Day concludes.

The report, Gender Balance in the Nuclear Sector, reveals that nearly half the women surveyed in the nuclear energy sector have experienced or heard accounts of gender bias and sexual harassment at work.

It highlights that women are paid less and feel as though they lack female role models, which makes it harder for the sector to attract more female talent.

The report is based on data collected from over 8,000 women in the nuclear workforce in 32 countries and human resources data from 96 nuclear organisations in 17 countries. It is the first publicly available international data on gender balance in the nuclear sector.