April 4, 2018

Texas Comptroller Visits El Paso on Tour Celebrating Women in the Workforce

(EL PASO) — On the third stop of his Good for Texas Tour: Women in the Workforce Edition, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar visited El Paso Electric, where he celebrated the work of Mary Kipp, the utility company’s chief executive, and highlighted the economic impact of Texas women throughout the trade, transportation and utilities industry.

Kipp has been with El Paso Electric since 2007 and is its first woman CEO. She has overseen many parts of the company, including its regulatory and rates, human resources, external affairs, public relations and environmental, health and safety divisions. Kipp also spent four years as a senior enforcement attorney in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Office of Enforcement in Washington, D.C., where she investigated and prosecuted violations of federal energy laws.

In his Good for Texas Tour: Women in the Workforce Edition, Hegar is sharing the results of a study the Comptroller's office recently completed examining the economic impact of women on the Texas economy. He is touring facilities and meeting with exemplary women leaders across the state in all sectors of Texas’ economy.

“Texas women working in trade, transportation and utilities generate additional business activities that ultimately support about 1.8 million jobs in other industries throughout our economy,” Hegar said. “There’s a higher concentration of Texas women working in this industry than in the nation as a whole, with the retail trade subsector boasting the highest number of jobs held by women, 663,000.”

In 2016, the trade, transportation and utilities industry contributed $317.3 billion to Texas’ gross state product (GSP). Women accounted for about 985,000 of the state’s 2.4 million jobs in this industry, earning average annual salaries of about $59,000.

In all, more than 6 million women held jobs in Texas in 2017. Texas’ women-owned businesses employed 808,200 workers and generated about $134.2 million in sales. But further efforts are needed to eliminate barriers to women’s entrepreneurship and access to top-level positions. Three of the most women-dominated occupations in Texas — health care support, personal care and service and office and administrative support — are among the lowest-paid occupations in the state.

“I hope this tour will also serve to emphasize the importance of ensuring women have equal access to advancement in the workplace and leadership roles throughout the Texas economy,” Hegar said.

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