Africa’s Nuclear Future: Increasing the Participation of Women and Youth

This policy brief examines the role of nuclear science and technology in Africa's development and argues for the increased participation of women and youth in the sector. It aligns this goal with African Union (AU) frameworks for gender equality and youth empowerment, identifies existing networks like WiN Africa and AYGN, and outlines the challenges and requirements for expanding inclusion in nuclear energy, medicine, and agriculture.

• Women are significantly underrepresented in Africa's nuclear science and technology sector, comprising only 30% of experts, trainees, and fellows. This figure has remained consistent over several years without improvement.
• The African Union has established numerous frameworks to promote gender equality and youth inclusion, which provide a foundation for their participation in the nuclear sector. These include the Maputo Protocol (2003), the African Youth Charter (2006), the AU Gender Policy (2009), and Agenda 2063 (2015).
• Two primary regional networks facilitate the inclusion of women and youth in the nuclear field: Women in Nuclear (WiN) Africa, which has approximately 350 participants from 37 African countries, and the African Young Generation in Nuclear (AYGN), which connects young professionals across the continent.
• The African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE) has actively supported inclusion by recruiting approximately 40% women as expert consultants in 2020 and 2021, with a target of 50%. AFCONE also proposed an internship policy for 2020–2023 for postgraduate candidates in natural sciences, engineering, and humanities.
• Several barriers hinder the optimal participation of women and youth, including a lack of sustainable human resources development, insufficient education and training programmes dedicated to nuclear science, and the absence of an updated database integrating the profiles of African experts in the field.
• To improve inclusion, the document recommends increased governmental political and financial commitment, enhanced education in STEM, and the use of regulatory bodies like AFCONE and the IAEA to share best practices. South Africa is identified as being uniquely positioned to lead by sharing its knowledge of nuclear energy and medicine.

APA

BAALIOUAMER, M. (2022). Africa’s Nuclear Future: Increasing the Participation of Women and Youth. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/SAIIA_PI_137_AfricasNuclearFuture.pdf

Chicago

BAALIOUAMER, MESSAOUD. Africa’s Nuclear Future: Increasing the Participation of Women and Youth. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2022. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/SAIIA_PI_137_AfricasNuclearFuture.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=BAALIOUAMER |first1=MESSAOUD |title=Africa’s Nuclear Future: Increasing the Participation of Women and Youth |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=September 2022 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/SAIIA_PI_137_AfricasNuclearFuture.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{baaliouamer2022africas, author = {BAALIOUAMER, MESSAOUD}, title = {{Africa’s Nuclear Future: Increasing the Participation of Women and Youth}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/SAIIA_PI_137_AfricasNuclearFuture.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }