The growing influence of women in HVAC

Though currently a small percentage of the workforce, women play a key role in the HVAC industry. 

As March — Women’s History Month — kicks off, here’s the latest on women’s employment trends — and a spotlight on a couple whose contributions have helped shape the industry. 

What’s happening: The number of women technicians and installers has doubled since 2017, growing from just 1.4 percent of the workforce to three percent as of 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — a sign that the industry’s recruiting efforts are paying off.

• Why it matters: A wave of retirements across the U.S. workforce is expected over the next five years, coinciding with more than 40,000 annual HVAC technician job openings projected through 2033, per the BLS.

Women are also launching home service businesses at rates exceeding national averages, according to recent Yelp data shared with Homepros. 

• Women-led HVAC openings grew 21 percent in 2024, versus the 15 percent national average, while women-led duct cleaning openings jumped 50 percent compared to the 28 percent average. 

Zoom out: Throughout history, women have made significant contributions to the HVAC industry, with a couple outlined below. 

• Alice Parker. Following her desire to stay warm during New Jersey winters, Parker designed an indoor heating system using natural gas, obtaining a patent for her “heating furnace” in 1919. While natural gas was used in industrial applications, “Parker’s central heating furnace design is credited as the first to use natural gas for heating homes,” notes Canary Media. Her specific design was never implemented commercially, but it laid the foundation for today’s gas furnaces, of which 35 million have been shipped since 2014. 
• Margaret Ingels. A trailblazer in engineering, Ingels was the first woman in the U.S. to earn a professional degree in mechanical engineering. During and after a career at Carrier, she published roughly 50 papers on air conditioning, developed the “effective temperature” scale, and wrote Willis Carrier’s biography, which was published in 1952. 
• Bonus: Holly Paeper. After several years at the company, Paeper in 2024 was appointed president of Trane’s commercial HVAC division, becoming the first woman president in the company’s 111-year history. She also serves on the board of Trane and Mitsubishi’s U.S. joint venture, and, for 2025, AHRI. 

The bottom line: Though there are too many to name, countless other women technicians and executives drive excellence across the industry every day, and the growing number of them signals a bright spot in the road ahead.