Unequal Opportunities: Examining Quality and Diversity in Green Jobs

Introduction

Recent U.S. investments in green technologies present the opportunity to achieve several historic goals—accelerate the transition to a sustainable economy, improve the overall quality of jobs, and disrupt persistent segregation in the workforce (i). 

In order to realize these goals, however, new Jobs for the Future (JFF) research shows that employers, educators, regional leaders, and policymakers will need to make significant changes to disrupt bias in hiring and spread economic opportunity more evenly. Our analysis found that the quality of jobs and the diversity of the workforce across the green transformation cycle varies widely, with women, Black workers, and Hispanic workers underrepresented in jobs with the highest pay, best benefits, and lowest risk (ii). We also identified promising strategies to respond to and close these gaps.  

To ensure a just transition to a green economy, we must focus not only on eliminating industry practices that are bad for the planet but also on eliminating practices that are bad for workers. While the specific approaches must vary by job type, our data analysis provides insights that can inform training, recruitment, and advancement strategies to ensure all green jobs are quality green jobs with on-ramps for people from backgrounds that have been excluded.  

While public policy can play an important long-term role in this agenda, we believe that employers are best positioned to take swift action. Employers can establish new industry norms and take immediate steps to ensure that the transition to a green economy prioritizes both environmental sustainability and quality career opportunities for all. 

Endnotes:

(i) It is anticipated that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the CHIPS and Science Act will collectively create 18.7 million jobs, with an average of 2.9 million jobs created annually. See: Robert Pollin et al., Employment Impacts of New U.S. Clean Energy, Manufacturing, and Infrastructure Laws (Amherst, MA: Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, September 2023), https://develop-peri.umass.edu/images/publication/BIL_IRA_CHIPS_9-18-23-1.pdf. 

(ii) In this paper, JFF uses the U.S. Census Bureau terms “Hispanic” and “Asian,” although they do not align with our publishing guidelines for using equitable and inclusive language when writing about people. When we share insights or data from individuals or organizations whose language choices differ from our own, we use their terms to preserve accuracy. See our Language Matters Guide for more information.