Founded with the goal of building equity in tree care, the Women’s Tree Climbing Workshop (WTCW) continues to grow as a vital entry point for women in the industry.
place is highly competitive, making hir- ing and training a fast-paced process to meet tight deadlines and budgets. LeVangie and Ingersoll said many new hires are onboarded with minimal training, resulting in an environment
that may not empower the employees to speak up and ask questions. “And they don’t have the courage to say something because they’re new or they don’t speak the language,” LeVangie explained. She noted that this could
To build a more diverse workforce, Le- Vangie believes the industry must shift its mindset about who belongs on an arborist crew. Ingersoll said the industry often holds a narrow image of the “ideal” crew member — one that can exclude capable individuals, such as older workers. Both LeVangie and Ingersoll believe tree care companies benefit from in- cluding a wide range of experiences and perspectives on their teams. “I’ve always been amazed to watch how complete a crew can be when you have more diversity,” Ingersoll said. “It re- ally helps bring more of a community together in the workplace.” WHY DIVERSITY IS A CHALLENGE The physically demanding nature of the work and the razor-thin profit mar- gins in arboriculture are major barriers to workplace diversity, according to Le- Vangie and Ingersoll. “The margins are so small in arboricul- ture,” Ingersoll remarked. Especially in larger firms that handle utility clearing contracts, the market-
The intense physical demands of arboriculture, coupled with its narrow profit margins, pose significant challenges to workplace diversity.
10 | Spring 2025 ArborTIMES ™
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online