This will not be a post about which color is “the new black” for the moment; but ladies, be informed that green looks great for you! Green jobs, that is. With the ever growing need for workers in environmentally conscious fields, women are the “right men” for the job.
Women’s Bureau
The United States Women’s Bureau, created in the wake of women gaining the right to vote in 1920s, advocates for and protects the interests of women in America. These interests have evolved and expanded from topics such as political equality in the form of voting to the topic of pay equality today. Still working hard for the American women, the Women’s Bureau recently saw a demand for “green jobs” to be filled by women. In partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor, they created “Why Green is Your Color: A Woman’s Guide to a Sustainable Career.”
As stated by Women’s Bureau Director Sara Manzano-Díaz, this document’s purpose is to help women realize that:
Green jobs can help women increase their income and we must make sure that women are adequately represented in the ranks of workers in green jobs.
Green Jobs Defined
Green jobs are restore, protect or conserve the natural environment.
Environmental pressures and a growing population requires a more proactive economy that conserves our natural environment. Because of this fact, green jobs are steadily rising. Green jobs exist in every level of occupational fields, and can require certification as simple as on-the-job training or as in-depth as accredited degrees. They can typically be found in areas such as construction, agriculture, design, recycling, energy efficiency, transportation, as well as other areas. With green jobs helping to boost the economy and aiming to protect the environment, women must not miss out on this amazing chance to change the status quo in both their involvement in traditionally male dominated jobs and careers, as well as to foster the growth of this new green era.
Job examples provided in the document include physically laborious jobs such as wind turbine service technicians and solar photovoltaic installers as well as office and field jobs such as recycling coordinator, environmental scientists and landscape architects.
Many people may say, “The majority of those jobs are for men!” but American women are making a difference in their green occupations.
Women in Sustainable Professions or “Green Jobs”
Dr. Kate Shoulders
At the University of Arkansas, Dr. Kate Shoulders, an assistant professor in the agriculture department, has a green job.
Influenced by the need to help people make informed decisions as consumers in the agriculture field, she received her PhD in Agriculture Education, and her research focused on renewable energy education. Dr. Shoulders’s goal is to educate people to make the right decisions for themselves when it comes to adopting new technology and to become more energy efficient.
Nationally, programs such as Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. provide training for and open the door for women to become skilled workers in green trades jobs. The ladies in the video below represent the possibilities for women in green jobs, and show that women can do those jobs well.
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Women, prepare for your Green Job today!
University of Arkansas Office for Sustainability Intern, Addie Benson (left), and Energy Corp associate, Mallory Nelson, both representing young women in “Green Jobs.”
In 1967, Kathrine Switzer ran the Boston Marathon five years before women were allowed to. Advancements in women’s rights make an act such as that unfathomable today. With physical limitations removed, it is now time to erase mental limitations.
Women, take your place in the green job industry today!