Speaker
Description
The field of nuclear diplomacy, nonproliferation, and disarmament currently faces significant challenges, including stagnation in advancing key agreements. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), a cornerstone of the global nuclear order prohibiting all nuclear weapon tests, struggles to secure ratifications from Annex 2 States, delaying its entry into force. Integrating gender perspectives and prioritizing human resource development may provide innovative solutions to these challenges. Gender inclusion can diversify negotiations and foster creative approaches to nuclear arms control.
Recently, international organizations have launched educational, sponsorship, and mentoring initiatives to enhance women’s representation. Notably, the CTBTO Mentoring Programme supports early-career women in STEM, a critical field for advancing nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament discussions. By equipping female STEM professionals with the skills and opportunities to contribute, these initiatives aim to foster CTBT ratifications and broader nuclear diplomacy goals.
As part of a Master’s thesis, this qualitative research will evaluate the CTBTO Mentoring Programme’s impact on women’s career advancement. Questionnaires will be distributed to mentees, and semi-structured interviews will be conducted with mentors and CTBTO representatives. This research will highlight the program’s achievements, extract valuable lessons for other fields to contribute to scholarly discourse on women’s empowerment in nuclear policy based on the sources availability.
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