Forty Years of Women in the Geothermal Sector: 1980-2020

Abstract

Over the past 40 years, women’s participation in the geothermal sector in the USA has increased. In 1980, women authored 7.5% of the papers given at the annual meeting of the Geothermal Resources Council (GRC). By 2018, the number of women authors was 21%. Similarly, the number of female authors for the World Geothermal Congress (WGC) increased from 8% in 1995 to 20% in 2015, and has doubled at the Stanford Geothermal Workshop over 40 years. Women represented 11% of the GRC membership in 2010, and by 2018 this number had increased to 17%. At this rate of increase, and assuming all else remains equal, the number of women in the geothermal sector will achieve parity with men after 2070. Statistics from professional societies of other resource related industries (e.g. SPE, SEG, AAPG) show similar increases in women’s participation in these industries over the same time period and are also a long way from achieving parity with men. Overall, women hold less than 30% of jobs in STEM, except for social, biological & medical sciences. Women in the geothermal sector work in various disciplines including engineering, geoscience, law, economics, business, marketing and administration. We observe that employment in STEM-related jobs are disproportionately lower in geothermal compared to other disciplines (finance, business etc.). The reasons for the lower representation of women in technical/STEM fields, such as geothermal, are numerous and complex. However, groups such as WING (Women in Geothermal) are attempting to increase the proportion of women in the geothermal sector through education, mentorship programs, raising awareness of the challenges women face, and through encouraging cultural changes in the workplace/sector. In this paper, we present a review of women’s participation in the US geothermal sector over the last 40 years, as well as how these statistics compare with other extractive industries (i.e. oil and gas, and mining) in the USA. Additionally, we review the programs/efforts that have been implemented over the last 40 years that focus on supporting women and achieving equal gender representation in the sector, and their impact.