HOW WOMEN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Women in the Wind Industry; “It is going to take all the talent we can find and the best ideas that are out there.”

Herman K. Trabish, May 13, 2013 (Greentech Media)

“…[A]n as-yet-unreleased NREL study show women make up approximately 20 percent to 25 percent of the wind workforce. Most work in administrative and human resources roles…[ Kristen Graf, Executive Director ofWomen of Wind Energy (WoWE) believes] we will be better off if the workforce is more reflective of the overall long-term customer base…

“…[T]hose numbers are much more the case in the high-tech industries…About 41 percent of lower-level STEM jobs are held by women, Graf said…But by the time women in the industry hit their mid-to-late-30s, some 51 percent leave, and very few ultimately end up at the very top…Graf noted [five reasons, including]…Hostility in the workplace…The isolation of being a lone woman among men…The disconnect between workplace demands and women’s preferred modes of dealing with problems and conflicts…The added domestic responsibilities that many women have…The lack of clear advancement paths…”

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“…[A Catalyst study comparing the performance of Fortune 500 companies with no women on their board and companies that have three or more women board members…[showed ones with more women showed significantly better returns on sales, invested capital and equity…WoWE’s mission, Graf said, is the education, professional development and advancement of women in the industry. What that is intended to achieve, she added, is to bring more women to the table, build a more diversified wind industry workforce and, as a result, build a more robust renewable energy economy.

[Kristen Graf, Executive Director, Women of Wind Energy:] “This industry, right now especially, needs innovative policy and financing methods. That is going to take all the talent we can find and the best ideas that are out there…Without a doubt, the greater presence of women is a solution…It is not that women have a particular perspective but chances are good that they have some sort of different perspective.”

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