{"id":17469,"date":"2018-03-27T17:23:58","date_gmt":"2018-03-27T21:23:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=17469"},"modified":"2018-03-27T17:32:59","modified_gmt":"2018-03-27T21:32:59","slug":"meet-the-women-of-the-clean-energy-and-sustainability-workforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2018\/03\/27\/meet-the-women-of-the-clean-energy-and-sustainability-workforce\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the women of the clean energy and sustainability workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By Ellen Shenette<\/a><\/em>, Manager, EDF Climate Corps<\/em><\/p>\n

I remember some of the first interactions I had with companies working in the clean energy industry. I was an analyst at the time, which meant the conversations were more often than not, very technical, wonky, and with men. At first, this was overwhelming. But my all-women MBA program prepared me for the male-dominated business world. I turned these initial concerns into motivation, and I built my technical expertise so that I could hold my own in conversations. If my knowledge was questioned, I was ready with an answer.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not alone in this experience. Like many other STEM industries, women are underrepresented in the energy workforce, counting for only roughly\u00a020-35 percent.<\/a>\u00a0The good news is that this trend is changing, and clean energy is leading the way. The clean energy sector is the farthest along in closing this gender gap compared to other energy sectors, opening up numerous opportunities for women looking to start their careers in this field, and I\u2019m proud to be helping to make this possible.<\/p>\n

EDF Climate Co<\/a>rps<\/a> is working to build the next generation of sustainability leaders, and we\u2019re making sure that includes women. Why? Research has found that more gender equity leads to higher performing companies, and female leaders\u00a0rank the highest<\/a>\u00a0in their ability to take initiative and drive results.<\/p>\n

Since EDF Climate Corps started in 2008, women have represented 41 percent of our fellows. I decided to reach out to these women from our alumni network, a group of nearly 850 sustainability experts, and learn more about their jobs and gather any advice they have for women looking to join the industry.<\/p>\n

[Tweet “Meet the women of the clean energy and sustainability workforce”]<\/p>\n

All of the women I spoke to noted they are outnumbered by men in their work. Alumnae from the EDF Climate Corps class of 2016 \u2013 Beatrice Troiano, a specialist in distributed generation at Con Edison and Grace McGinnis, a field solar specialist at Sunrun \u2013 said \u201cthey are used to being one of few women.\u201d And Donna Sanders, CEO and co-founder of Social Solar, also a 2016 fellow, added that she\u2019s seen very few women in leadership roles.<\/p>\n

This gender imbalance might also vary depending on a specific job function. Leanna McKeon, a senior energy analyst at the Chicago Housing Authority and a 2014 fellow, says while working on engineering and construction projects she\u2019s often the \u201conly woman in the boiler room,\u201d but during policy meetings the room is generally split evenly by gender.

How do we get more women into these job opportunities that are out there?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/p>\n

Why does this gender imbalance exist? Well, there are a few reasons. A lot of it comes from the fact that the clean energy and sustainability field is closely connected with other industries \u2013 like construction, engineering, sales, etc. \u2013 which have been traditionally male-dominated.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Halford, a 2015 fellow, said that her job as a project manager with Elevation Greenroofs LLC, was a cross between construction, landscaping and roofing, which are jobs usually held by men. Grace found this to be true for her sales role: \u201cMost of the people I work with come from a sales background, and in my experience sales is usually also male-dominated. It\u2019s a very competitive culture, one of \u2018crushing the competition, almost like a sports competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the important question, is how do we get more women into these job opportunities that are out there? Here\u2019s what I suggest:<\/p>\n