I will continue to be committed to increasing the number of female participants benefitting from the CTBTO’s capacity building programs. Doing so will build knowledge, raise awareness and enable participants to become competitive, high-quality candidates for contributing to the work of the CTBTO Provisional Technical Secretariat.

I will review and address the inequalities inherent in our existing frameworks, which constrain early career candidates from moving into relevant fields of work, beyond internships. In 2024, these efforts will include launching the 3rd cycle of the CTBTO Mentoring Programme for early career women in STEM fields, especially supporting participants from underrepresented geographical regions. I will also identify other potential sources of funding for cultivating early career individuals — especially those from developing countries — to enable their access to meaningful professional experience qualifying them to contribute to the mission of international organizations.