IAEA Board of Governors
Agenda item 10: Any Other Business - International Women's Day
5 March 2026
CANZ statement delivered by Ms Georgia Lowe, Alternate Resident Representative of Australia to the IAEA, on behalf of Australia, Canada and New Zealand
Thank you, Chair.
I have the honour of delivering this statement on behalf of Canada, New Zealand and Australia, in advance of International Women’s Day this Sunday, March 8th.
CANZ countries seek to advance a world where international law and human rights – including the human rights of women and girls – are mutually accepted, respected, and consistently realised across the globe. Our joint legacy as leaders on gender equality is underpinned by an understanding that gender equality is not only a part of our core values, but it is essential to finding collective solutions to the challenges the world faces today.
As Director General Grossi has noted, “gender equality and the empowerment of women are vital to fully realising the rights and potential of everyone” and “these fundamental aims must also inform our work at the IAEA”.
At the IAEA, equal representation of women in leadership positions ensures important perspectives are considered making for more robust security discussions – the outcomes of which impact all our lives – and full gender parity in research and technical positions leads to broader technical capacity and innovation.
CANZ countries commend the IAEA for having reached the 2020 goal of gender parity in professional and higher categories by 2025, recording women in 51.3% of these positions in June last year. We encourage the IAEA to further its gender mainstreaming efforts in the agency’s programme, budget, and technical cooperation projects, and to maintain these efforts to ensure the inclusion of the perspective of all women in the agency’s programmes and activities.
We know that structural inequalities persist, which limit women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in the workforce - including in the nuclear field. Gender equality in science and technology benefits us all, as it unlocks the full productive and innovative capacity of our societies and contributes to sustainable development.
At the core of our foreign policies is that we, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the world is more prosperous and secure when the scales are balanced, and everyone has equal opportunities to thrive.
We look forward to continuing to work with the agency on the advancement of gender equality – in the IAEA, in CANZ countries, and across the globe.
Thank you.