Member State Points of Contact for the Recruitment of Women

Member States Designate Points of Contact for the Recruitment of Women

All Member States are requested to designate a "Point of Contact" to actively support the Agency´s efforts in recruiting women in the Professional and higher categories.

The role of the Points of Contact is to:

  1. Identify institutions from where suitably qualified female candidates could be attracted, such as nuclear societies, universities, nuclear regulatory authorities, etc. The names of institutions with a relevant contact person and e-mail address should be submitted to the Secretariat via e-mail at women@iaea.org;
  2. Spread the word to institutions and individual candidates about employment opportunities at the IAEA;
  3. a) Promote the Junior Professional Officer (JPO) Programme by re-energizing or exploring the possibilities of establishing such a programme in the Member State;
        b) Expand fellowships by working with the Department of Technical Cooperation and relevant Member State institutions.
  4. Set up recruitment missions funded by the Member State that explain the work and mission of the IAEA and spread the word about employment opportunities.

For more information see:
- Meetings of the Points of Contact »
- List of Points of Contact »


Meetings of the Points of Contact

Following is a list of meetings held by the Points of Contact to date:

  • 19 May 2008 | Approximately 31 Member States participated in the meeting. David B. Waller, Deputy Director General of the Department of Management, emphasized the challenge for the Secretariat to increase the number of women in scientific and technical areas. Anita Nilsson, Focal Point for Gender Concerns, highlighted a general improvement in the representation of women and described ongoing efforts to mainstream gender issues in the Secretariat´s operations and programmes. Nathalie Colinet of the Department of Technical Cooperation explained how the IAEA fellowship programme works and spoke about steps that could be taken to increase the number of women participating in this programme. Catherine Monzel, Alternate Focal Point, briefed on activities carried out by the Points of Contact since last year, particularly the fact that the network of societies, universities and institutions to which vacancy notices are e-mailed monthly has expanded to over 500 institutions. She also presented a comparative chart of work/life balance-related policies, which shows the IAEA as being among the organizations with the most comprehensive set of such policies in the UN common system.
    - Briefing Summary » [pdf]


  • 24 May 2007 | David Waller, Deputy Director General of Management, opened the meeting by emphasizing the importance of a joint effort between the Secretariat and Member States to increase the representation of women Professional staff. He encouraged the Points of Contact to continue expanding the network of institutes, societies, universities and relevant institutions from where well qualified candidates could be attracted. Gabriele Voigt, Director of IAEA Laboratories and Chair of the JAC Sub Committee on Gender Concerns, briefed Member States on the activities carried out by the sub committee and the progress achieved. She also gave an insight into the status of women representation at the laboratories. Anita Nilsson, IAEA Focal Point for Gender Concerns, and Catherine Monzel, Alternate Focal Point, gave an update of the Secretariat´s initiatives towards furthering gender equality, including the establishment of a gender equality policy and of Departmental Focal Points for Gender Concerns, and informed of outreach activities aimed at women. Some delegates reported on their activities and discussed other ways of increasing the representation of women at the Secretariat. It was suggested that the Points of Contact identify an organization or institute in their Member States that could be interested in highlighting the IAEA and its work.
    - Briefing Summary » [pdf]


  • 28 September 2006 | Deputy Director General Mr. David Waller welcomed Member State delegates and emphasized that it is crucial for all current members of the Board of Governors to join the Point of Contact effort. Mr. Doug Northey, Director of the Division of Personnel, gave remarks on the challenges that the IAEA faces in recruiting well-qualified women Professionals. He was followed by a briefing from Ms. Jill Cooley, Director of the Division of Concepts and Planning in the Department of Safeguards, regarding her experiences at the 2006 Women in Nuclear global annual meeting. Ms. Anita Nilsson, IAEA Focal Point for Gender Concerns, and Ms. Catherine Monzel, Alternate Focal Point, then led an interactive discussion with delegates regarding the Secretariat´s recent actions taken towards furthering gender equality, as well as new ways in which Points of Contact can assist in this area. Several delegates commented on their recent experiences with carrying out Point of Contact activities. Following the meeting, Mr. Waller sent a letter - enclosed in the summary below - to all Resident Representatives of Member States currently serving on the Board of Governors that have not yet nominated a Point of Contact.
    - Briefing Summary » [pdf]


  • 2 March 2006 | Twenty-two Member State representatives participated in the meeting. In the introductory remarks, David Waller, Deputy Director General, welcomed delegates and emphasized the importance of the partnership between the Secretariat and Member States in recruiting from the small pool of well qualified women in the nuclear field. Anita Nilsson, IAEA Focal Point for Gender Concerns, and Catherine Monzel, Alternate Focal Point, presented the Secretariat´s recent actions taken towards furthering gender equality.

    Following the briefing, several delegates expressed their support for the Point of Contact meetings and suggested new ways of reaching out to well qualified women candidates.
    - Briefing Summary » [pdf]


  • 6 September 2005 | Over 20 Member States were briefed on the "Status of Women in the Secretariat" 2005 report to the Board of Governors and General Conference, with a focus on the efforts of the Points of Contact.

    IAEA Deputy Director, Mr. David Waller, urged Member States that had not already done so, to designate a Point of Contact. Ms. Anita Nilsson, IAEA Focal Point for Gender Concerns, presented a briefing on the report and summarized developments related to gender issues. She emphasized that for the first time in the Agency´s history, the representation of women in the Professional categories has surpassed 20%.

    Following the briefing, five Points of Contact gave substantive reports on their activities with respect to the recruitment of women since the first meeting, and a number of other delegates reported that progress was under way. The meeting concluded with a discussion on recruitment issues.
    - Briefing Summary » [pdf]


  • 23 June 2005 | Approximately 25 Points of Contact participated in the meeting. Following introductory remarks by Deputy Director General David Waller, Anita Nilsson, IAEA Focal Point for Gender Concerns, gave a presentation on the current status of the representation of female Professional staff. Catherine Monzel, Head of Recruitment and Staff Development, then briefed the Points of Contact on the recruitment process, conditions of employment and efforts made towards establishing a family-friendly environment. The Points of Contact were requested to take a number of actions to assist the Secretariat.
    - Briefing Summary » [pdf]


List of Points of Contact

(The number in parentheses indicates the number of institutions submitted by the Member State to the Secretariat under task 1:)

Argentina (1)
Ms. Nélida Contreras de Ecker, Permanent Mission of Argentina

Australia (23)
Mr. David Mason, Arms Control Branch, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Austria (18)
Dr. Barbara Pfeiffer, Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Azerbaijan (2)
Ms. Nargiz Gurbanova, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Bangladesh (0)
Mr. Nayem Uddin Ahmed, Permanent Mission of Bangladesh

Brazil (0)
Ms. Viviane da Silva Simões, National Nuclear Energy Commission

Burkina Faso (0)
Ms. Solange E. K. Rita Bogore-Agneketom, Permanent Mission of Burkina Faso

Cameroon (0)
Dr. Estelle Claudine Sajo Nana, Centre de Recherche en Alimentation et Nutrition (CRAN)

Canada (9)
Mr. Anthony J. Hinton, Permanent Mission of Canada

Chad (0)
Ms. Mariam Madingar, Ministère des Mines et de l´Energie

Chile (0)
Ms. Cecilia Urbana, Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission (CCHEN)

China (0)
Mr. Sen Li, Permanent Mission of China

Côte d´Ivoire (0)
Ms. Blanche A. Djetouan, Department of Energy, Ministry of Mines and Energy

Cuba (0)
Ms. Luisa Aniuska Betancourt Hernandez, Director, Centro Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear (CNSN) - National Center of Nuclear Security

Denmark (10)
Ms. Louise Fluger Callesen, Mission of Denmark to the OSCE, IAEA and CTBTO

Ecuador (0)
Mr. Iván Fernando Garcès-Burbano, Permanent Mission of Ecuador

Finland (0)
Mr. Jani Raappana, Permanent Mission of Finland

France (0)
Ms. Christine Bruma, French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)

Germany (22)
Mr. Anton Meier, Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany

Greece (0)
Ms. Vassiliki Tafili, International Relations Office, Greek Commission of Atomic Energy

Haiti (0)
Mr. Azad Pierre Nasser Belfort, Ministère des affaires étrangères et des cultes

Hungary (0)
Mr. Sándor Élõ, Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA)

Iceland (0)
Ms. Jóhanna Bryndís Bjarnadóttir, Permanent Mission of Iceland to the International Atomic Energy Agency

India (0)
Dr. Rajan P. Patel, Permanent Mission of India

Indonesia (0)
Ms Lenny N. Rosalin, Head of Bureau for Planning and Foreign Cooperation, Ministry of Women´s Empowerment

Iraq (0)
Ms. Shirin Aqrawi, Permanent Mission of Iraq
Ms. Alia Sarsam, Permanent Mission of Iraq

Ireland (0)
Mr. Conleth Brady, Permanent Mission of Ireland

Israel (6)
Ms. Malka Gilady, Permanent Mission of Israel

Italy (11)
Mr. Michele Baiano, Permanent Mission of Italy

Japan (8)
Ms. Ayummi Homma, Permanent Mission of Japan

Kenya (0)
Ms. Margaret Maimba, National Council for Science and Technology

Korea, Rep. of (0)
Mr. Byung-Ryong Moon, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea

Libya (0)
Ms. Rowaida Tawfiq Ebrish, Third Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Organizations Department, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Lithuania (0)
Skirmante Semaškaite, Nuclear Energy Division, Ministry of Economy

Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Rep. of (0)
Ms. Ivanka Solomonova, Department of International Scientific/Technical Cooperation, Ministry of Education and Science

Mexico (7)
Mr. Sergio Ajuria Garza, Permanent Mission of Mexico

Montenegro (0)
Ms. Smilja Kazic-Vujacic, Agency for International Scientific, Educational, Cultural and Technical Cooperation of the Republic of Montenegro

Morocco (0)
Ms. Samira El Abdaoui, Permanent Mission of Morocco

Myanmar (0)
Ms. Khine Myat Chit, Permanent Mission of the Union of Myanmar

Netherlands (1)
Ms. Ines Coppoolse, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Nigeria (3)
Ms. Maria Oyeyinka Laose, Permanent Mission of Nigeria

Norway (10)
Mr. Ole Lundby, Permanent Mission of Norway

Pakistan (0)
Mr. Muhammad Munim Awais, Embassy of Pakistan to Austria
Dr. Asif Salahuddin, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission

Paraguay (0)
Ms. Lilian Marcela Afara Corrales, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Paraguay

Poland (100)
Ms. Elzbieta Gryzio, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Poland

Romania (6)
Ms. Laura Mihai, Permanent Mission of Romania,
Ms. Iuliana Cormos, President´s Office, Romanian Nuclear Agency

Slovakia (0)
Ms. Alena Žáková, Department of Structural Programmes of the Ministry of Economy

South Africa (0)
Mr. A.B. Wright, Permanent Mission of South Africa

Spain (1)
Mr. Miguel Alonso Berrio, Permanent Mission of Spain

Sweden (25)
Head, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Switzerland (0)
Mr. Giancarlo Kessler, Permanent Mission of the Swiss Confederation to the IAEA

Thailand (0)
Mr. Vongthep Arthakaivalvatee, Permanent Mission of Thailand
Ms. Jindarom Chvajarernpun, Bureau of Atomic Energy Administration, Office of Atoms for Peace of Thailand

Tunisia (17)

Turkey (0)
Ms. Sema Ünver, Turkish Atomic Energy Authority

United Kingdom (4)
Ms. Amy Leyland, Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United States of America (6)
Ms. Jillian M. Walker, Permanent Mission of the United States of America

Zambia (0)
Mr. Chitaku Greenford Mucheleng´anga, National Institute for Scientific & Industrial Research

Zimbabwe (0)
Ms Julia Kudamusi Marangwanda, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Zimbabwe


Related Links

- IAEA Resolutions on Women »
- Recruiting Women to the IAEA »
- Resources for Women »