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At a lively event in Portland last week, the U.S. Department of Labor launched a new career guide, issuing a call for more women to enter the clean energy and green building workforces.

Presented for the first time to local tradeswomen, politicians, labor representatives and private employers, 鈥淲hy Green is Your Color: A Woman’s Guide to a Sustainable Career鈥� sparked a conversation about training opportunities, fair wages and women’s roles on job sites.

鈥淭here is a tremendous amount of interest in the region in green jobs and environmental fields, as well as the blue-collar fields that support them,鈥� said Connie Ashbrook, executive director of and host of last week’s event. 鈥淛ust as with other blue-collar jobs, women need to know that these jobs are open to them, and need to have resources to help them learn and get connected.鈥�

DeAnedra Sadler, 23, has weatherized homes for for four months. She said she wishes she knew about opportunities in the trades at a younger age.

鈥淚t angers me that I’m just now finding out the training and different jobs,鈥� Sadler said. 鈥淗igh schools have the military and colleges come in, but not apprenticeships. I would’ve pursued this at an earlier age if I knew how.鈥�

The career guide highlights jobs ranging from logging supervisor to solar power technician to biomass plant engineer, and offers practical advice for job seekers. Also, the guide spotlights seven women, including Portlander Tara Webb, who are succeeding in various green jobs.

Webb, who spoke briefly at the launch event, is now working at the Intel project site in Hillsboro. She also has installed solar panels and climbed 300-foot windmills.

鈥淚 was the only woman out there with about 100 guys,鈥� she said of her windmill-wiring job.

Webb, 27, didn’t have a chance to work on the towers until she filled in for an absent worker.

鈥淵ou try to blend in, but you don’t,鈥� she said, sparking laughter in the crowd of approximately 50 people. 鈥淏ut I went out there and wrestled with the best of them. I sat on top of the tower, and was just in awe.鈥�

Webb, nearing completion of a five-year apprenticeship with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 48 Inside Electrician program, said she is looking forward to more 鈥済reen adventures.鈥�

More apprenticeship programs are adding green angles to their curricula, according to Anne Wetmore, state director of the Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship in Oregon and Washington. And that trend, she said, could draw more women into various trades.

鈥淭here’s a shift going on in the way we view work in the trades,鈥� Wetmore said. 鈥淧eople are more concerned about the results of the work that we’ve been doing 鈥� it’s more about energy efficiency and using the latest and greatest building materials, and that really does work well for women.鈥�

The growing need for workers with technical training to meet the demand for 鈥済reener鈥� practices in various industries spurred the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau to begin developing the green jobs guide more than a year ago.

鈥淲e knew the green industry was on the horizon in a lot of cities, so we wanted to put together a technical handbook to help women get into these higher-paying jobs,鈥� said Betty Lock, regional administrator for the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau, region 10. 鈥淚t’s all about higher-paying jobs, especially since there are a lot of single-woman households, and a lot of low-income women are working more than one job.鈥�

Lock said that women from all backgrounds can find opportunities in new fields 鈥� such as home weatherization 鈥� or in traditional trades that are transitioning into the green economy by using new technologies or materials.

But people involved with the new guide don’t want to overstate the connection between women and green jobs 鈥� many of the trades are attracting a small, but growing number of women workers. And many of them don’t feel as if their gender should always be at the forefront of the conversation about their occupation.

鈥淚 feel like I can do everything but fly right now,鈥� Sadler said. 鈥淓verybody should do something that they would never have seen themselves doing 鈥� it’s a good lesson for everyone, not just women.鈥�