Washington, DC – Women’s History Month marks time for reflection and celebration of the accomplishments and triumphs of women throughout centuries past, The Department of Energy’s (DOE) observance also considered the contributions still to come. On March 26, hundreds of DOE employees and contractors attended, in person and online, the 2024 event celebrating “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion,” recognizing women who have worked to create a more just society.

Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm addressed the audience, starting with an anecdote from the past. She noted that Women’s History Month began as a commemoration of an 1857 demonstration in New York that demanded better pay and an end to 16-hour days for women in the textile industry, one of the first labor strikes by women workers. The Secretary drew a parallel between their fight to create a better work environment for women and DOE’s efforts to increase the number of women working in the energy sector.

Women make up 47% of the overall workforce in America, only about one in four workers in the energy industry are women. “It’s a story that connects us to the generations of women who have looked at the world around them and decided that ‘good enough’ was not enough,” she asserted, sharing stories of women working in battery manufacturing, solar panel installation, and union representation.

The Secretary’s message was followed, appropriately enough, by the announcement of the newly elected board members of Professional Opportunities for Women at Energy Realized (POWER), a DOE employee resource group (ERG) that promotes gender equality and equitable practices, policies, and programs through the Department. 

Veronica Jackson, Energy Justice Policy Division Chief and outgoing Director of POWER, then introduced the focal part of the event, a fireside chat between women leaders at The Department of Energy. The discussion was moderated by Samantha Ruiz, Chief of Staff for the Office of Energy Justice and Equity.

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Director of the Office of Science, spoke from her own experience about lack of diversity in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and cited evidence that diverse organizations are more successful, more profitable, and more effective. But that, she argued, shouldn’t be the motivating factor to support diversity in the workplace. “First and foremost, we do it because it’s the right thing to do,” she declared. “Genius is scattered everywhere, but access to resources and opportunities are not. That’s what we’re here to fix.”

Office of Energy Justice and Equity Director Shalanda Baker echoed the value of diversity to a leader. “Advisors advise me, right? I need diverse perspectives and I need people who are going to push back and show me something that I didn’t realize.” The Director emphasized, however, that a diverse team only benefits if the members feel included and are empowered to speak up and share their viewpoints.

Chief Information Officer Ann Dunkin agreed, suggesting, “It’s important to pay attention to who is speaking in the room... It’s incredibly important that we pay attention to who gets the opportunity to contribute, who gets to speak, who gets assignments that matter.”

During the discussion, Dr. Berhe announced that she was leaving DOE to return to academia, which led the panelists to reflect on how fighting for diversity and inclusion can maximize one’s impact at an agency. Chief Dunkin, who had previously served at the Environmental Protection Agency, emphasized how years of policy work and program support can be undone on the first day of a new administration. “When we walked out the door, a lot of work we did went away,” she recounted, “but the people that we put in place were still there.”

Director Baker gave an example from her own office. For decades, DOE had people who collected data and studied issues of racial and gender injustices related to energy, but it happened behind the scenes and was largely ignored. But under her directorship, that information was elevated. 

“What I think we’ve done is established equity as a north star of this agency, and people understand what’s possible when we make equity the priority,” she stated. “Which means that the day I leave this building, people will not go back into hiding... They will be able to justify why we do the work, why it’s important to our mission, and why it has to continue.”

The ceremony concluded with a musical performance introduced by Karen Lerma, Deputy Director of POWER. DO-GLEE, a pop-up choir of DOE staff, performed a rendition of a well-known pop anthem to inspire the audience. The choir also performed an original song written by twin sisters Hayley Emerson, from the Office of International Affairs, and Taylor Emerson, from the State Department.

The observance served as a history lesson, a celebration, and an examination of the role women have in the equitable clean energy future, with practical insights for the path forward. 

Visit the Office of Energy Justice and Equity website to learn more about our collective efforts and join the conversation on DOE’s social media channels.