Just 30% of solar and wind energy generation workers are women, report shows

Canary Media recently delved into the numbers released in the U.S. Energy and Employment Report that was released in June. A fact sheet boasts that 40% of the jobs in the energy sector are net-zero aligned, while renewables like solar and wind saw marked increases in the amount of jobs from 2020 to 2021, with solar leading the way. More than 17,000 new solar jobs were added in 2021. These numbers are great news for an industry that will see an inevitable boom as the U.S. strives to meet its net-zero goals.

Less than great? How those jobs break down in terms of gender. Just 30% of the solar and wind power generation workforce are women. That number is far from the split in the national workforce in which 47% of jobs are done by women, while 53% of jobs are done by men. Closest to those numbers in the energy generation sector is the gas industry, which boasts a breakdown of 35% and 64% male workers. Canary Media notes that less than 1% in the gas industry identify as gender nonbinary.