One large solar company reported less than 1% of its field employees were women. The solar industry overall sits at 25 to 30% women across all roles, but the construction side drops to an estimated 1 to 3%. Riley Neugebauer, founder of Solar for Women, joins Tim Montague on the Clean Power Hour to talk about why women are missing from solar installation and what the industry needs to do about it.

Riley Neugebauer is based in Colorado, where she has spent the last six years installing residential and commercial solar, providing technical training, and managing projects for small companies. She founded Solar for Women, a national non-profit focused on connecting with, celebrating, training, and advocating for women in solar trades and technical roles. She currently works for Unirac as an Installer Sales Specialist, providing technical training to installers in the Southwest. She holds a residential electrical license in Colorado and a NABCEP PVIP Certification.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
You will learn why girls outperform boys in STEM subjects through middle school but drop off by high school, and how socialization pushes women away from trades careers before they ever consider them.

You will hear Riley describe how one employer told her she had no natural ability after a year of work, while hiring men around her for the field roles she wanted. That experience led her to start the Facebook group that became Solar for Women.

Riley explains that companies need to do specific work: put women in visible roles, show diversity in marketing materials, create employee resource groups, offer mentorship, and allow schedule flexibility for parents. She gives the example of letting a single mother skip the morning shop visit and meet the crew on site.

You will hear about organizations already training women in solar, including Grid Alternatives, Remote Energy, and the Solar Energy International (SEI) women's lab programs. Riley credits Grid Alternatives with producing many of the women she knows in the solar construction workforce.

Riley describes the traits that help someone succeed in the trades: comfort outdoors, problem solving under pressure, working with your hands, grit, and some risk tolerance around electrical work. She also pushes back on stereotypes, noting that cosmetologists and self-described "girly" people succeed in the trades when the fit is right.

Tim and Riley discuss the broader U.S. trades shortage. The country needs a million new electricians, many are aging out, and K-12 education still steers students toward college rather than skilled trades.
This episode matters because the solar industry faces a labor shortage while half the population remains almost entirely absent from its construction workforce.

Riley Neugebauer and Solar for Women are working to change that by building community, advocating for workplace culture shifts, and connecting women to training resources. The opportunity is large and the barriers are solvable.

Topics covered in this episode: women in solar construction, solar workforce diversity, trades workforce shortage, women in trades, solar installation careers, gender equity clean energy, solar training programs for women, K-12 STEM pipeline

Connect with Riley Neugebauer, Solar for Women
Riley Neugebauer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/riley-neugebauer-5a534a5/

Solar for Women Website: https://www.solarforwomen.com/

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