Workforce diversity for green jobs

Dear EarthTalk: What’s being done to get more minorities into green jobs? — Sam W.

Green jobs—those that directly contribute to a sustainable environment—have been growing in need as the world has become more eco-focused. According to the Solar Energies Industries Association (SEIA), between 2014 and 2019 employment in the solar energy sector increased five times faster than job growth in the general U.S. economy.

Despite this, there is still more to be done to improve workforce diversity. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory reported that 69 percent of the wind energy work force is white, and SEIA found that its workforce is 73 percent white. There is a clear lack of diversity in the green jobs workforce, often due to an underrepresentation of minorities trained in leadership roles, wage gaps unequal hiring practices. Lucky, there are a few ways to address this problem.

The first solution is advancing access to training and degrees required for green jobs. Engineering jobs require bachelor’s degrees, but in 2022 only a quarter of engineering bachelor’s degrees were earned by women, and in 2018 only 4.6 percent were earned by Black people. In order to create a more diverse workforce, companies should offer financial aid for higher education and create real-life, research experiences designated for women and people of color.

Jobs that do not require degrees, such as repair, maintenance and construction, are covered by unions, though while unions generally protect workers’ rights and improve working conditions, they have a history of being exclusionary. Unions can implement new programs and policies, such as mentorship programs, to increase minority representation and improve worker skills.

EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy Scheer & Doug Moss for the 501(c)3 nonprofit EarthTalk.

The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Lakeville Journal and The Journal does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

Latest News

Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

Keep ReadingShow less
Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

Keep ReadingShow less