The issue of gender equality in corporate governance is currently one of the most pressing — the proportion of women in the top management of companies is growing, but varies significantly depending on the industry and size. An analysis of publications showed that the phenomenon of female leadership in business structures of the nuclear industry is not sufficiently reflected in the scientific literature. Although each of these publications covers an important part of the problems associated with the gender factor in the nuclear industry, they reflect only certain areas of scientific research related to the subject area being studied. The novelty of this article lies in the fact that it presents the results of the first comparative study on gender equality among women in senior management positions in the nuclear industries in Russia and France, which are among the world leaders in electricity production and nuclear power plant construction. A comparative analysis was carried out using the example of two largest nuclear corporations — the State Corporation Rosatom and the French energy generating company EDF — according to the following criteria: the presence of legislation on gender balance in business structures, biographical information about women leaders, recruitment channels into the nuclear industry and career trajectory of women leaders in the nuclear industry, connection with political and other areas of activity. The authors used research methods such as biographical and retrospective methods, the method of determinism, comparative analysis, political-textual analysis of sources, case studies, etc. Based on the results of a comparative study, the authors of the article come to the conclusion that the features of national models of female leadership in the nuclear industries are determined both by the presence/absence of legislation on gender balance in business structures, and by the specifics of career trajectories for promotion to leadership positions directly in the nuclear industries in France and Russia.
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