COVER STORY
WOMEN IN THE
GREEN INDUSTRY: AN EMERGING LABOR FORCE By Devon Carroll, Plant, Soil, and Environmental Science Ph.D. candidate, The University of Tennessee and Dr. Carrie Stephens, Professor of Leadership in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, The University of Tennessee
WOMEN’S WORK A look at most grounds crews at athletic facilities, golf courses, or landscape operations rarely reveals a woman working to maintain green spaces. Despite women comprising 51% of the U.S. population and 47% of the labor force, women represent far less than half of the labor force in the turfgrass or landscape industries. Given that turfgrass and landscape industries are estimated to support about 1.4 million jobs nation-wide, this labor group represents novel employment opportunities. Although female groundskeepers and landscape professionals have recently gained attention in media, their numbers are few. National turfgrass associations report only 2 to 4% of members who are female (Figure 1). Similarly, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that as of 2019, women comprised only 6.5% of all landscaping and groundskeeping workers. The low percentage of women working in the turfgrass or landscaping industry classifies such work as a non-traditional job. Nontraditional jobs are classified by the United States Department of Labor as an occupation that is comprised of 25% or less female employment. Other non-traditional labor sectors with similar percentages of female employment to turfgrass and landscaping include welding, construction, plumbing, and electricians (2.2 to 5.3% women). The low engagement of women in the green industry is a problem as labor is of growing concern. In recent years, a decline in the U.S. unemployment rate and immigrant and bluecollar worker availability has affected hiring across many professions. In the past eighteen months, the labor issue has been exacerbated by the compounding effects of COVID-19. As the industry struggles to fill positions, recognizing the under-utilization of women could be a solution. Can increased recruitment of women to the green industry help close the labor gap? Imagine if the percentage of women working in landscape related professions rose from 6.5% to 10%. Based on current estimations by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, this relatively small increase would result in an additional 50,000 women seeking employment in the green industry. Now imagine if the percentage changed to 20 or 30% women.
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FIGURE 1. Estimated female membership in national turfgrass associations provided through personal communication in February 2020.
TENNESSEE TURFGRASS AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org
