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Op-Ed: Now is time to protect against invisible threat of lead service lines
Passage of this bill will also significantly benefit Chicago’s Black and brown communities. A 2020 study from E2, or Environmental Entrepreneurs, showed that Black and Latino residents in Illinois are twice as likely to live in communities with the most lead service lines — yet another addition to the array of disproportionate threats to their […]
Exclusive: Energy Efficiency Employment Still Depressed Compared With Pre-Pandemic Projections
The U.S. energy efficiency workforce climbed to 2,115,533 people as of June 2021, up slightly from a year earlier but still creeping toward full recovery at a relatively glacial pace, per pre-pandemic data from Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) and E4TheFuture, which partnered in putting together the report. Given its consistent growth in the previous years, pre-pandemic […]
CEOs, Execs: Passing Build Back Better Act and Infrastructure Bills Urgent for Economy, Business
US Chamber, Business Roundtable don’t represent American businesses, say leaders WASHINGTON – With Congress set to resume debate over the Build Back Better Act and other climate policies in the infrastructure and reconciliation bills, CEOs and top executives from Patagonia, Pirelli Tires, Volt Energy, SH Hotels and Resorts, and Tofurky reiterated the growing call from […]
E2 Mtn West Action Alert: CDOT Rule-making (10/14/21)
Updated Letter of Business Support – Strong Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Standard for Transportation Planning
Too few women, people of color in clean energy industry, report contends
There’s a dearth of women and people of color working in clean energy, a problem within one of the fastest-growing sectors in the U.S. Women make up less than 30% of all workers in clean energy, and racial and ethnic minorities account for 4 in 10 clean energy jobs. Groups underrepresented in the industry lost […]
E2: ‘The face of clean energy is predominantly White and male’
People of color and women are “vastly underrepresented” in clean energy jobs compared to the U.S. workforce at large, and many underrepresented groups lost ground between 2017 and 2020, according to a report released last week by BW Research Partnership, E2, and a coalition of clean energy industry groups.
Women, Black, and Hispanic/Latino Workers Underrepresented in US Clean Energy
Women, Black, and Hispanic/Latino Workers Underrepresented in US Clean Energy WASHINGTON – As Congress considers the most significant domestic investment ever made to speed America’s transition to clean energy, a new employment report from a collaboration of business, equity, and energy organizations highlights the need for Congress to include funding to advance diversity in clean energy […]
U.S. clean energy sector must expand hiring beyond white men -report
(Reuters) – U.S. clean energy jobs are overwhelmingly dominated by white men, and efforts to boost industries like renewable energy and electric vehicles should make sure that women and people of color are not overlooked, a report published on Thursday said. More than 60% of workers that hold jobs in clean energy industries like electric […]
Help Wanted: Diversity in Clean Energy
Summary
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.
About 61 percent of clean energy workers across America are white non-Hispanics. Black and Hispanic/Latino workers are more poorly represented in clean energy than they are across the rest of the economy, with Black people composing 8 percent of the clean energy workforce (compared with 13 percent economy-wide) and Hispanic/Latinos making up 16.5 percent (versus 18 percent economy-wide). Women represent less than 30 percent of all workers in the sector despite accounting for nearly half (48 percent) of the U.S. labor force as a whole.
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.
Findings
The study expands on data from the 2021 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) produced by the U.S. Department of Energy. Among the report’s key findings:
- Black workers represent about 8 percent of the clean energy labor force, compared with about 13 percent of the nation’s total workforce.
- Hispanic/Latino workers represent nearly 17 percent of the clean energy workforce, slightly less than the 18 percent they represent in the overall national workforce.
- Racial and ethnic minorities account for nearly four in ten U.S. clean energy workers.
- About 8 percent of clean energy workers are Asian, slightly higher than their presence in the national workforce, while Pacific Islanders and Alaska and other native Americans each make up about 1 percent of the clean energy workforce.
- Women hold about 27 percent of clean energy jobs, compared with 48 percent of all jobs nationally.
- Renewable energy employs the highest share of Hispanic or Latino workers in the U.S. energy sector.
- Black, Asian, Indigenous, and multiracial workers account for about 27 percent of clean energy jobs.
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.
U.S. Labor Force Demographics, 2020
| Demographic | Overall US Labor Force | Total Energy Workforce | Clean Energy Workforce | Fossil Fuel Workforce |
| White | 76% | 74% | 73% | 74% |
| Black/African-American | 13% | 10% | 8% | 9% |
| Asian | 7% | 7% | 8% | 6% |
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander | <1% | 1% | 1% | <1% |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | <1% | 2% | 1% | 2% |
| Two or more races | 2% | 8% | 8% | 9% |
| People of Color | 22% | 28% | 26% | 26% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 18% | 16% | 17% | 13% |
| Women | 48% | 25% | 27% | 27% |
Policies Matter
This analysis indicates that more needs to be done to address racial inequities in clean energy and the broader economy. As we rebuild the U.S. economy in the wake of COVID-19, we have a chance to do it in ways that create new opportunities for people of color. As Congress and state lawmakers focus on clean energy’s role in the recovery, they should focus as well on rebuilding the economy more equitably.
President Biden’s Justice40 initiative mandating that 40 percent of the benefits from federal climate action go to disadvantaged communities is a step in the right direction. But there are many steps lawmakers can take—right now—to ensure greater diversity in the clean energy workforce in the months and years ahead.
Read the report’s policy recommendations starting on page 24.
Background
This is the first-ever comprehensive report on diversity in the U.S. clean energy workforce. This analysis was conducted by BW Research Partnership for E2, the Alliance to Save Energy, the American Association of Blacks in Energy, Black Owners of Solar Services (BOSS), and Energy Efficiency for All. Early drafts of this report were also reviewed by the Policy Committee of BOSS. It expands on data from the 2021 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) produced by the Department of Energy, using data collected and analyzed by BW Research Partnership. The USEER analyzes data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages to track employment across many energy production, transmission, and distribution subsectors. For further methodology questions, see pages 201–206 of the USEER.
Other sources of data are noted throughout.
Equity & Workforce Development in the Clean Economy
Please join E2 for a national webinar discussion on access to clean energy job training. Before the pandemic, clean energy jobs were one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy, and will be a critical piece of how we build back better. But how do we ensure that clean energy employment opportunities are equitable? […]
Vermont clean energy jobs board aims to net more resumes from women
Job boards like the one that Renewable Energy Vermont has launched will be important to connect newly qualified workers with jobs, said Bob Keefe, executive director of E2, an environmental advocacy group that tracks clean energy workforce trends. But their impact will be limited without more investment in training workers who don’t yet have the […]