Professional development opportunities are presented for female representatives of the energy sector of the economy, including enterprises of the nuclear industry, oil and gas companies, the extractive industry, including uranium mining and processing companies, science, and career paths have been developed.

On December 8, in Astana, the Nuclear Society of Kazakhstan and the Rosatom Women’s Community, with the support of the Rosatom State Corporation and the Council of the Eurasian Women’s Forum, held a practical mentoring laboratory, Women Career Lab, in which more than 120 young girls, together with leading experts, explored stereotypes when choosing professions in the industrial sector of the economy, current trends in the labor market and challenges of the future. They also developed individual career plans. The participants of the first Women Career Lab had a unique opportunity to break down their careers into “particles” and create their own successful set of skills and competencies that will allow them to build a successful career.

The experts of the motivational track were the female heads of Samruk-Kazyna Ondeu LLP, NAC Kazatomprom JSC, the Astana branch of the RSE National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the NGO People’s Party of Kazakhstan, the NGO Consumer Rights Protection and Competition Development, the Public Council of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Karachaganak Petroleum Operating.

«The first career laboratory, Women Career Lab, became a logical continuation of our cooperation with professional women in Kazakhstan, since the development of mentoring and support for girls in industry and technology is an important track of our business cooperation. The project became the starting point for the formation of the institute of women's mentoring in the industrial sector of Russia and Kazakhstan, presented a palette of career opportunities in various industries and, of course, given the Year of Working Professions in Kazakhstan, we focused on promoting working professions among young girls and women. The laboratory brought together experts from leading industrial companies, industries, scientific institutes and professional associations. As a result of the event, an agreement was reached to replicate best practices in other partner countries, including within the framework of the International Council for the Support of Women in Industry and Technology, which this year was chaired by the Republic of Kazakhstan», - said Alexandra Ryabykh, project organizer, head of Rosatom’s Women's Community, co-founder of the Women in Nuclear Industry Association Fund, and member of the Council of the Eurasian Women’s Forum under the Federation Council of the Russian Federation.

Within the framework of the Women Career Lab, it was revealed that persistent stereotypes do not depend on the profession, and most of the participants see service and their contribution to the sustainable development of the company as the main motive for building a career. The Lab participants identified strong competencies that help them develop: communication, mentoring experience, teamwork, and the presence of corporate women's communities. Together with experts, we have developed new tools and initiatives to promote women's leadership that will help young girls build careers in industry and technology.

An important component is the balance of family and work life. We worked with experts on new tools to promote women's leadership in industry – we identified stereotypes and barriers and worked on the task of identifying new tools, formats and initiatives to promote women's leadership in a particular industry in the country. An important result is that today Kazakh girls identify service and company development as their main goal in building their careers. We have identified strong competencies that allow us to advance our careers. All the participants in the laboratory showed interest in their career development, nevertheless understanding the importance of harmoniously combining family responsibilities with career growth. The main resource is the family.

«I would like to say that our association, which has been around for 30 years, is doing everything possible to ensure that the work of women specialists in the nuclear industry, and indeed in any technological industry, does not go unnoticed. And we are doing everything possible to attract as many STEM girls as possible to work in high-tech industries, including through joint projects with the Rosatom Women’s Community with the support of Kazakhstan’s largest industrial companies», - said Togzhan Seifulina, project organizer, Director of the Nuclear Society of Kazakhstan Association, President of WiN Kazakhstan.

The II International Congress of Women in Industry and Technology will be held on December 9 at 10:00 a.m. at the Sheraton Hotel Astana.