Women and Green Jobs
SUSAN REES
WIDER OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN
APRIL 1, 2009
SREES@WOWONLINE.ORG
What Are Green Jobs?
 “Green” relates to a job’s purpose
Jobs that conserve energy, expand renewable energy sources,
conserve or improve the environment
 40% of energy is used to heat and cool buildings
 40% of green jobs expected in making buildings energy efficient
 Therefore, many green jobs will be in construction – similar to
traditional construction laborer and skilled trades.
 Building retrofit, HVAC
 Infrastructure development, e.g. “smart grid,” mass transit
 And manufacturing – wind turbines, solar panels, auto batteries

Skills Required for Green Jobs
 Traditional construction skills with added technical aspects
 And thinking “green,” understanding systems
 Community college course for commercial HVAC-refrigeration
2-year, 53 units
 How buildings work – building commissioning
 Energy use trend analysis and diagnostics
 Control system programming
 Communication and presentation skills
 Basic skills, including trigonometry and geometry

Green: A Road to Better Jobs for Women?
 Construction and other green jobs likely will pay more than
those traditionally held by women.
 2/3 of all working women are clustered in only 21 of 500 job
categories (Women Work, using BLS data)
 Except for nurses and school teachers, these categories include
some of the lowest paying industries
 Retail
 Personal services
 Food establishments
The Boost From Construction Wages
 Single mother with one preschooler needs
$24,139 to make ends meet, WOW’s national median SelfSufficiency Standard in 2007.
 60% of such women had income below the national median.
 2007 BLS average annual construction salaries:
 Laborers -- $30,950
 HVAC - Refrigeration, Mechanics and Installers -- $40,630
 Insulation workers -- $41,480
 Plumbers, Pipefitters, Steamfitters -- $48, 442
 Electricians -- $48,100
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Union vs. Non-union Wages
 Typical construction trades union member -- $993/ week,
$51,636/year
 Non-union -- $624/week, $32,448/year
 Government certified apprenticeships in the trades are road to
higher paying, long-term careers in construction, BUT
 Only 11.5 % of construction jobs are union jobs.
(Source: Economic Policy Institute)
How Many Stimulus Jobs Will Be Green?
 Jobs created by Recovery Act Spending

EPI estimates $200 billion in construction spending over 2
years will create 770,000 jobs in:
 Transportation infrastructure
 School retrofit
 Electric power
grid
 Home Weatherization Assistance Program
 GSA federal building retrofit
 Public and affordable housing
How Many Green Jobs for Women?
 Not many, if current workforce composition is any guide
 Women in construction overall (non-office) -- 2.6%
Construction laborers – 2.7%
 HVAC, Refrigeration – 0.9%
 Plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters – 1.5%
 Electricians – 1.7%
 Insulation workers – 1.9%
 Sheet metal workers – 3.7%
 Manufacturing: Machinists – 5.2%

Training funds in Recovery and Reinvestment Act
 $1.2 billion - dislocated worker services
 $750 million - competitive grants in high-growth sectors,
including green and broadband expansion
 $500 million - WIA adult program
 All the above include:
 Targeting to
low-income populations
 Supportive services
 Needs-based cash payments
 $1 billion Weatherization Assistance Program training
 $20 million DOT on-the-job training and supportive services
Adult Education in ARRA
 WIA funds may be used to contract with community colleges.
 Funds in the State Fiscal Assistance Fund for education may be
directed to programs funded under the Perkins Career and
Technical Assistance program.
 Maximum Pell grants are increased by $500 to a maximum of
$4,860.
 New American Opportunity Tax Credit replaces and expands the
Hope Scholarship to $2,500 and makes it refundable below
$90,000 income ($180,000 joint returns).
How to Ensure Women Get Green Jobs
 Comprehensive approach, including
Hiring goals or preferences
 Enforcement of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity laws
 Pre-apprenticeship programs that include:

 Local labor market
analysis
 Specialized outreach
 Orientation to construction field
 Support services and stipends, including child care and
transportation to job sites
 Programs addressing sexual harassment
 Apprenticeship placements involving unions and employers
At the Federal Level
 Improve WANTO (Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional
Occupations) enacted in 1992
 Shown to increase women’s employment in higher-paying
occupations by 47% (Mastracci)
 Pre-apprenticeship training and support services, including
outreach and coordination with labor-management councils
 Authorized at $1 million – often funded at less.
 Administered by Women’s Bureau
 20 programs have closed due to lack of funding.
DOL’s Green Jobs Training Act
 Green Jobs Training Act of 2007

Pathways Out of Poverty competitive demonstration grants
 Targets
individuals with income less than 200% of the SelfSufficiency Standard

Should consider women’s needs in program implementation.
 DOL
should include WANTO-type pre-apprenticeship programs as
nonprofit partners to receive grants.

Data collection requires gender, race, age and parenting
status, job placement and average wage at placement,
including benefits.
DOT - Federal Highway Administration
 Office of Civil Rights’ On-the-Job-Training and Supportive
Services http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/aaa/gtup.htm
Competitive grants to state highway departments.
 Purpose: increase employment of “minorities, women and
disadvantaged individuals” in transportation jobs.
 Includes recruitment, skills training, job placement, child care,
outreach, transportation to work sites, pre-employment
assessment, mediation and counseling.
 “Pipeline” programs may include transportation-related
internships, cooperative education, post-secondary support
activities.

Federal Nondiscrimination Enforcement
 DOL should strengthen equal opportunity monitoring by the
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs in DOL.
 Staffing has been cut by approximately 25% since 2001.
 Restore the Equal Opportunity Survey requiring contractors to
submit information on average compensation of employees by
gender and race.
 Update hiring goals for women (6.9%) and minorities that
remain based on 1970 Census data.
 Expand use of the 2000 MOU between OFCCP and the GSA to
jointly promote contractor hiring goals on selected megaprojects valued over $50 million.
At the State and Local Level
 Legislation/regulations should give preference to contractors
who –
 Maximize the hiring of disadvantaged groups, including
“individuals for whom construction is nontraditional
employment,” and
 Provide health and retirement benefits.
 Require agencies to coordinate hiring with local community
organizations, hiring centers, faith-based, labor and nonprofit
organizations.
 Require hiring data on Recovery Web sites, including to the
extent possible gender, race, ethnicity, age and previous
income.
State and Local Level (cont’d)
 Enact “project labor agreements” that include hiring goals.
These are negotiated voluntary agreements involving, labor,
owners and contractor organizations for large projects.
 Include women’s and community voices at the table.
 Monitor payroll data.
 Establish state pre-apprenticeship recruitment, training and
placement programs.
 E.g. NYC procurement policies require apprentices on publicly
funded projects for the schools, Port and Housing Authorities.
 The city’s Labor-sponsored pre-apprenticeship program
guarantees placement in these certified apprenticeships.

Washington Area Women in
the Trades (WAWIT)
CAMILLE CORMIER
WIDER OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN
APRIL 1, 2009
CCORMIER@WOWONLINE.ORG
WAWIT Partners and Major Roles
 Wider Opportunities for Women: case management,
non-union job and apprenticeship placement, systems
advocacy;
 YWCA of the National Capital Area: main training site,
curriculum/overall program development and
implementation;
 Community Services Agency of the Metropolitan
Washington Council, AFL-CIO: hands-on and 120-hour
Core Construction training, union job and
apprenticeship placement, systems advocacy.
WAWIT is:
 6 weeks of pre-apprenticeship training with up to 18 months of
case management /job placement support for graduates.
• Training that prepares low-income DC area women for
construction and utility careers paying self-sufficient wages .
WAWIT Program Components
Industry-Recognized Certificates:
 Core Construction - training/certification using AFL-
CIO’s curriculum – topics: Construction Math, Blueprint
Reading, Industry Orientation/Awareness, Labor
History/Contemporary Issues, Tools/Materials
 First Aid – CPR
 OSHA 10 Safety
Hands-on Skills Training: 40 hours at a DC area Union
Apprenticeship Training Center
WAWIT Program Components (cont)
 Fitness – 3 to 5 hours of weight training per week, emphasis
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on upper body strengthening
Gender Issues in Construction
Green Jobs Overview
Job Readiness
Basic Computer Skills/Research -a-Trade
Counseling/Case Management (up to 18 months)
Individual Job Placement (up to 18 months)
Technical Reading Comprehension
Supporting Our Sisters: Monthly support groups
WANTO Program
(a project of WAWIT)
Women into Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations
Project Goals:
 Prepare 200 women over a 2-year period to enter high paying
construction Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) in the
Washington DC area;
 Update and dissemination of Workplace Solutions website
(www.workplacesolutions.org), an online resource for employers
and unions on women in nontraditional occupations;
 Institutionalization of 3 to 5 new policies/programs in
appropriate RAPs—especially in the area of recruitment and
retention of women.
WAWIT Program Outcomes
 Seven (7) class cycles completed since March 2007
 193 women enrolled
 118 women graduated (17 of these on 3/26)
 61% graduation rate
 52 graduates placed in jobs and apprenticeships
 44% placement of graduates
 Vigorous placement efforts continue
WAWIT Challenges
 Economic Downturn – Many skilled workers “on the bench;”
 Not a Union Town – 20% of area contractors are union;
 No major ports or industrial/manufacturing base;
 Relatively small population base (582,000 in DC; 5.3 million in
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DC area) from which to draw interested women;
Suburban Maryland and Virginia student recruitment and
retention is problematic (“bridge and tunnel” syndrome);
Lack of funding for training and work supports;
Broken and opaque public workforce development systems;
High entrance requirements for urban women: High school
diploma/GED, strong math skills, drivers’ license.
WAWIT /WOW Opportunities
 ARRA construction/Green Jobs funding promises huge increase
in training and jobs for DC area;
 Exploring weatherization careers and other Green Jobs with
WOW as a potential hub;
 DC Green Building Act of 2006 requires environmental retrofits,
Green standards for new construction;
 US Green Jobs Act of 2007 retrofit requirements apply to the
high number of Federal buildings in DC area.