While the nuclear energy industry has made great strides in increasing gender diversity, there’s still work to be done. The workforce remains predominantly male, with women making up less than 25 percent of the nuclear sector workforce worldwide.
Maria Lacal is acutely aware of this fact as someone who, in her words, entered the nuclear industry “unintentionally.” Lacal studied engineering at the University of Miami and later received her senior reactor operator license at a time when very few women were nuclear engineers, let alone working inside a control room. This January, she became the second female chief nuclear officer in the history of the United States commercial nuclear industry and the first to hold that post at Arizona Public Service (APS). As executive vice president and chief nuclear officer at APS, Lacal leads the nation’s largest clean energy generating facility, the Palo Verde Generating Station in Tonopah, Arizona.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Lacal in mid-March, as Palo Verde was preparing to enter a refueling outage and the U.S. was beginning to shut down amidst a global pandemic. Although it seems like years ago when we spoke, the discussion topic—promoting diversity in the nuclear industry—is even more relevant now, as industries and organizations make commitments to increase racial diversity and inclusivity.
Do you sense that the industry is evolving in terms of the diversity of its workforce and leadership?
I definitely see a greater focus on diversity and inclusion in our industry. It’s a topic of discussion during the recruiting and hiring process, workforce development and in succession planning at APS. Our engineering and other organizations, along with our human resources business partners, have done a phenomenal job bringing diversity into our engineering pipeline.
For example, last year NRC Commissioner Annie Caputo visited Palo Verde and one of the stops in her tour of the plant was the control room. As we walked in, I looked around and was surprised (and excited!) to see the entire crew was women. We didn’t design it that way, but it just so happened that way and I thought to myself, “Hey, this is pretty cool."
What efforts do you want to see put forth in order to attract and retain a more diverse workforce?
Having a diverse workforce is critical to our business. I believe that having employees with different backgrounds, knowledge and experiences results in better decision-making, greater creativity, and more efficient and effective solutions to problem-solving and strategic thinking.
I think we need to be creative and find ways to facilitate work-life balance for our younger employees who are starting families such that they can take on roles of greater responsibility, including leadership roles. We need to provide educational and developmental opportunities, degree programs, operator licenses, leadership development programs and strong mentors for these individuals.
The more that other women see women coming up in the ranks, the more empowered they will be to say, 'Okay, I got this I got a shot at this. Let me try it.'
They say leadership style trickles down. How do you influence others to be the types of leaders you expect?
As I have evolved as a leader, I have realized that I do not have to have all the answers or be the one with the most knowledge. Rather, my job is to create teams of highly skilled and knowledgeable employees and to support them in their growth and development, including allowing the team to develop the solutions and bring them to fruition. I am there to support them and clear the way for their success.
I have had the pleasure of working with men and women who are transformational leaders. Interestingly, I work with a young woman leader who is currently in our engineering organization. One day, she commented to me that she was afraid that she may not be the right mentor for other women in our industry as she felt that maybe she was starting to conform to a prototype for female leadership that looks like our male counterparts. My feedback to her was to be herself.
What advice would you give young women to encourage them to pursue a career in the nuclear industry?
I would say that this is an incredibly exciting time for young women. Our programs, our focus on diversity, and the new technologies and initiatives surrounding our industry provide an exciting opportunity for young, ambitious, talented, creative minds that want to engage and make a difference.
But we have got to do a better job. The more that other women see women coming up in the ranks, the more empowered they will be to say, “Okay, I got this I got a shot at this. Let me try it.” And so, it's got to start with us.
