California's solar industry is looking to make sure ethnic diversity is part of an industry that is growing rapidly.
California is adding thousands of solar jobs to the state's workforce each year and the outlook for 2015 is also bright. A recent solar industry census found the state had more than 178,000 solar-related jobs. That's about 21 percent more than the state had a year earlier.
Jeanine Cotter, president of a San Francisco Bay Area-based solar firm, is part of a team focused on building diversity. Cotter said that will make the solar industry more resilient.
"It would be important for the solar industry as well as any other industry to reflect the diversity of California both in the workforce and in the client base," Cotter said.
Related: The California Solar Jobs Census
Ethnic groups are well represented in the solar industry but only about 20 percent of the workers are women, Cotter said.
The most recent solar census concluded that solar companies employ more people than the state's five largest utilities combined.
"You have entry level jobs at the installation side in terms of the back office support," Cotter said. "And then you'll have material scientists in terms of what kind of back sheet do you have on the back of the solar panel. You're capturing people across a very broad swath of California."
Industry leaders have put together a diversity initiative to make sure the industry can tap into the strength that diversity brings to the state.
