Full Title: Help Wanted: Diversity in Clean Energy
Author(s): E2, Alliance to Save Energy, American Association of Blacks in Energy, Energy Efficiency for All, Black Owners of Solar Services, BW Research Partnership
Publisher(s): E2, Alliance to Save Energy, American Association of Blacks in Energy, Energy Efficiency for All, Black Owners of Solar Services, BW Research Partnership
Publication Date: September 9, 2021
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Despite its broad range of businesses, including construction, utilities, manufacturing, professional services, and repair and maintenance, the clean energy sector is dominated by white men. Given the incredible job growth of the energy sector over the past decade, this lack of diversity threatens to cause women, Hispanic and Latino workers, and Black workers in particular to miss out on one of America’s great economic expansions.
As the United States looks to build back a better, cleaner, more equitable economy, a renewed focus on increasing diversity in the clean energy sector should be an economic imperative. Both the transition to a low-carbon energy system and proposed state and federal stimulus to boost the economy have the potential to create millions of new jobs across the United States. Policies that support the energy sector and its low-carbon transition should focus on the inclusion of women and underrepresented ethnic and racial groups, particularly Black workers (who are often the most poorly represented in the sector), so that economic benefits are more equitably shared.
The full report includes national and state-by-state breakdowns on demographics across all clean energy sectors, multi-year demographic trends, comparisons to other energy sectors including fossil fuels and gas and diesel vehicles, and specific findings on individual occupations.