Our Work
Steering Women toward Rewarding Green Careers
When the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau launched a major initiative to help women find good jobs and careers in the emerging green sectors, it turned to PPA’s team to produce a comprehensive online guide. Our researchers studied secondary sources and conducted interviews in order to develop a guide to help women identify job opportunities, locate training programs, and plan careers.
"This guide is an invaluable resource that workforce professionals can use to help women transition into higher paying jobs that serve as a pathway into the middle class."
— Sara Manzano-Díaz, director of the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau
The Guide, "Why Green Is Your Color: A Woman's Guide to a Sustainable Career," is a centerpiece of the Women’s Bureau’s strategy to increase women's economic security by helping them consider nontraditional opportunities in growing industries and take action to pursue those opportunities.
PPA's Role: PPA and its project partner, Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) of Washington, D.C., were selected by the Women's Bureau to create the guide. PPA, led by Colleen E. Graber, Director of Health, Human Services, and Philanthropy, assembled a team of researchers to study employment trends and opportunities, the skills and education needed to secure good-paying green jobs, effective paths to identifying training programs, strategies for financing education, and tips for landing a job. PPA interviewed a diverse mix of women already succeeding in nontraditional green jobs to share inspiring stories. To supplement the guide, PPA’s team organized and facilitated seven national teleconferences and produced topic-specific fact sheets and articles. Pace and Partners, a leading public relations firm, provided design services for the guide and the accompanying materials.
Results: "Why Green is Your Color: A Woman's Guide to Sustainable Employment" provides practical, easy-to-find information for women interested in developing careers that support their economic security. The other materials developed during the project give workforce professionals tools with which to better understand the green economy and assist women in connecting with job opportunities.
Links:
Why Green is Your Color: A Woman's Guide to Sustainable Employment
U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau: Green Jobs for Women