This week kicked off with International Women’s Day, which means it’s also time to kick off USGBC’s Women in Green! USGBC launched Women in Green in 2012, and it has become a worldwide leadership platform to celebrate and connect female leaders in sustainability who are influencers at the top of their field, fueling ambitious young women and catalyzing change.

This global platform empowers women to enhance, strengthen and lead green industries across all sectors. Women in Green has reached more than 5,500 women over the years and has expanded outside the U.S. to India, Europe, China and Mexico.

Through events, partnerships and other opportunities, Women in Green provides a space for women who are shifting the narrative on empowerment, access and impact in the clean energy economy. As old paradigms are challenged, a new road map emerges for how we measure progress, who defines those indicators, and what and who are missing from the leadership table, as we unfailingly work to raise the quality of life for all.

This year’s theme is "Steadfast and Strong." For the Women in Green community, these words are deeply resonant and capture how women have adapted and endured in an unthinkable year. So, it’s fitting to know these words are also used to mark a 10th anniversary—a decade together.

It’s been 10 years of progress and 10 years of contributing to USGBC’s larger mission of creating a healthier, more sustainable future for all. This past year tested women like never before; USGBC’s own survey on women in the workforce revealed that 62% of respondents agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic is negatively impacting workplace equity. The United Nations also cautioned that COVID-19 could undo decades of meaningful progress around gender equality.

The reality is that we’re already seeing the effects. In the U.S., women’s workforce participation is at a 33-year low, and we know women of color feel these impacts more acutely. Serious economic, health, social and environmental challenges await us on the road ahead, but they are challenges that make Women in Green more important than ever, challenges that reinforce USGBC’s larger strategy of healthy people in healthy places as the fastest way to rebuild a healthy economy.

Rebuilding that economy will require different perspectives, new ideas and the courage to challenge what we think we know.

So, as we embark on the next 10 years of Women in Green, we must commit to facing down these challenges. We are steadfast and strong. Through our experiences, our collective knowledge and our diverse perspectives, we can be part of shaping a future that is healthy, sustainable, resilient and more equitable.

Women in Green has been steadfast in its work over the past decade, and the foundation we’ve created will serve us well as we embark on the next one. Are you up for the challenge?

Stay tuned for more information on local USGBC Women in Green events, and join us this September at Greenbuild for USGBC’s annual Women in Green networking panel and event!

Bookmark the USGBC events page for WIG programing

Women in Green 2021: Steadfast and strong