Around the world, the energy industry remains one of the most gender-imbalanced sectors according to the United States Agency for International Development. However, in clean energy, the percentage of women is growing. North Carolina is a leader in clean energy and with that status comes amazing opportunities for women to be leaders in all sectors of clean energy. 

The Women in Clean Energy (WICE) initiative, an project of NCSEA, offers women the opportunity to excel in North Carolina’s clean energy industry by fostering support, camaraderie, and knowledge sharing. In less than two years, WICE has grown its network to over 400 women, and created a mentorship program with participants across the country. Our goal is to increase the gender diversity within the clean energy sector and to ensure equal opportunity for all who want cleaner air and a thriving economy.   

Here's why I support WICE:

In the year 1999, I was 20 years old and found myself sitting outside at Cottonwood Brewery in Boone, NC.  I had just moved to Boone, as a transfer student into Appalachian State University.  I transferred as a Communications major but knew that I wanted to do something more environmentally focused, so I hastily declared a Biology major and put my class schedule together.  I found a roommate and we met there at the brewery to chat and get to know each other.  Pretty quick into that evening, a group of students sat behind me (all male) and were talking about a cool solar project they were working on.  I couldn’t help but overhear their conversation and for some reason, got the guts up to turn around and ask, “Hey, how are you guys involved in that?  Is this part of a class?”  One of the students smiled back and said “Yeah, we’re in classes within Tech Department.” That was the start of my involvement with Clean Energy.  I changed my major and jumped into Sustainable Buildings and Energy Studies with my heart and felt like I’d finally found my home.  There were only a few women in the classes.  We quickly became friends and helped each other navigate through our studies and we encouraged each other in our classes to speak up and be heard.  Soon after my time in Boone, I moved to Raleigh and started working in an all-male team of building science guys at Advanced Energy.  They were very encouraging but there were times when I needed encouragement and mentoring to work through the male dominated industry.  I’ve stuck with it and am so happy to see so many other women joining the energy industry!  It is just quite amazing to me the difference 20 years can make.  And now, I’m working with a terrific team at NCSEA that puts so much time and energy into paving the way for NC to operate on 100% clean energy, but making sure to incorporate equity, diversity and inclusiveness into every project we do.  I encourage you to help us make this program, Women in Clean Energy, a success and a resource as more and more women join the energy industry.  We want to lead this in our state and we need your support to do so. Donate, and dedicate your donation to someone you care about. Mine is dedicated to my two strong girls who have years before joining the workforce but deserve support and a fair chance.  

To learn more about our 2020 Women in Clean
Energy Campaign, return to the homepage here. 

For step-by-step instructions for creating your own Women in Clean Energy Fundraiser page:
https://energync.org/setup-wice2020/.

For copy and paste sharing content, check out our fundraiser sharing suite: 
https://energync.org/social-wice2020/.