At Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. office
Dept. of Labor launches ‘green jobs guide for women’ in Portland
The U.S. Department of Labor
(DOL) Women’s Bureau chose Port-
land and Oregon Tradeswomen Inc.,
(OTI) to launch a national campaign to
help women pursue careers in the
emerging green sectors.
Portland was chosen because of its
commitment to environmental protec-
tion and a more sustainable future, and
OTI was selected because of its suc-
cess promoting women in nontradi-
tional trades and green jobs, said Betty
Lock, regional administrator, DOL
Women’s Bureau, Region 10.
The Women’s Bureau has devel-
oped a resource — “Why Green is
Your Color: A Woman’s Guide to a
Sustainable Career” — to provide an
overview of the types of green jobs that
are available and the skills needed to
get them. The guide shows how to
identify training opportunities, gives
suggestions about how to pay for train-
ing, and describes how to start green
businesses. It also points out common
barriers to career advancement and of-
fers tips to overcoming them, and
showcases the success stories of
women who have already joined the
green economy.
One of the success stories high-
MARCH 16, 2012
Connie Ashbrook (left), director of Oregon Tradeswomen Inc., joins Betty
Lock of the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau at a press conference
Feb. 28 in Portland to launch a new guide for women to enter green jobs.
lighted in the guide is that of Tara
Webb, an apprentice electrician and
member of Portland-based Interna-
tional Brotherhood of Electrical Work-
ers Local 48. Webb has worked on
windmill towers and already has a con-
siderable amount of installation work
experience in the renewable energy in-
dustry.
DOL defines “green economy” ac-
tivity related to reducing the use of fos-
sil fuels, decreasing pollution and
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
greenhouse gas emissions, increasing
the efficiency of energy usage, recy-
cling materials, and developing and
adopting renewable sources of energy.
Jobs in these occupations, which
DOL says remain virtually untapped
by women, require different kinds of
training and work experience. In some
cases, women may be certified for an
occupation by taking a single course or
exam, and/or on-the-job training may
be available through an employer, ap-
prenticeship, or internship. In other
cases, the path to a green occupation
may require an associate degree, bach-
elor’s degree, or more.
At a press conference Feb. 29 at
OTI’s office in Northeast Portland,
Lock was joined by Anne Wetmore,
Washington State director, DOL, Of-
fice of Apprenticeship; Connie Ash-
brook, executive director of OTI; and
a half-dozen graduates from OTI’s
Trades and Apprenticeship Career
Class (including Webb) who now work
in unionized nontraditional trades.
“We know that women can play a
much greater role in reducing our over-
all reliance on foreign oil through ca-
reers that promote energy efficiencies
and renewable energy development,”
Lock said.
The guide is broken up into
browseable sections for whatever stage
of the career finding process an indi-
vidual is in, from an introduction to
green career choices to plotting out a
career path. The guide is available in
its entirety for free in both PDF and
HTML form on the Department of La-
bor website at http://www.dol.gov/
wb/Green_Jobs_Guide/.
G REEN A REAS
OF O PPORTUNITY
DOL points out 12 key sectors of
the green economy:
• Agriculture and forestry
• Energy and carbon capture
• Energy efficiency
• Energy trading
• Environmental protection
• Governmental/regulatory admin
• Green construction
• Manufacturing
• Recycling and waste reduction
• Renewable energy generation
• Research, design, and consulting
• Transportation
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