WaterRising Institute has been awarded a sub-grant to collect data on women in the water workforce on behalf of The Water Tower, with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Findings will be published in a white paper, “Engendering a Modern Water Workforce,” to be distributed in 2025.
Based in Buford, Georgia, The Water Tower is one of 13 recipients awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Innovative Water Infrastructure Workforce Development Grant Program, a $20 million bipartisan strategy to create sustainable employment in communities served by the water sector. As the recipient of a nearly $2 million grant, The Water Tower will develop the “Workforce Training and Recruitment Hub,” or WTR Hub, which will expand its unique training approach into South Carolina, Mississippi and California through partnership with 11 organizations including WaterRising:
“Less than 18% of the water workforce is female, up to half is retiring, and the candidate pipeline will not fill the need for sustainable water management. We need to update best practices to attract a diverse workforce that includes women. As empathetic collaborators and communicators, women bring skills that are crucial for today’s set of water management challenges, community outreach, and policy development,” said Alicia Douglas, Founder and CEO, WaterRising Institute.
“We can fill the gender gap if we close the data gap in water management. I’m confident that, with our survey, our early findings will prove what we already know, that women face barriers to water jobs. This is especially true in communities on the frontlines of climate change, where job training can lead to sustainable careers and economic mobility,” Douglas explains.
Read more about the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to hire and train residents to work on major infrastructure projects here and The Water Tower’s approach to recruiting, training and diversifying our future water workforce here.
