Full Title: Diversity in the U.S. Energy Workforce: Data Findings to Inform State Energy, Climate, and Workforce Development Policies and Programs
Author(s): Sarah Lehmann, Nate Hunt, Cobi Frongillo, Philip Jordan
Publisher(s): National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), BW Research Partnership, HBCU CDAC
Publication Date: April 25, 2021
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Energy technology innovation, private- and public-sector investments, and state, local, and federal energy and climate policies have propelled economic development and supported the creation of millions of jobs across the U.S. economy. Yet data from an array of analyses suggest that these benefits have not extended equitably across the energy sector workforce, which lags on gender and ethnic and racial minority representation particularly within the skilled trades, technology innovation and commercialization, and upper-level management of high-growth industries such as renewable energy development. These demographic groups have faced additional setbacks since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, which has disproportionately impacted Black and Hispanic energy workers.
To better understand the contours of these disparities, and potential policy improvements and solutions to mitigate them, the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) has partnered with BW Research Partnership to produce this foundational analysis, Diversity in the Energy Workforce: Data Findings to Inform State Energy, Climate, and Workforce Development Policies and Programs. The findings in the remainder of this report are informed by data culled from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER), and BW Research Partnership’s own research on the levels of awareness, career satisfaction, and opportunities for advancement in the energy workforce as well as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on energy jobs.