Kicking Off a Celebration of the Women’s Bureau
On Women’s Equality Day, August 26, we kicked off a celebration of the Women’s Bureau’s century-plus legacy with a blog from Director Wendy Chun Hoon on the WB’s impact under the Biden-Harris administration. The priority of the WB and the Department of Labor under the Biden-Harris presidency has been ensuring access to good jobs for all – jobs that offer family-sustaining wages, paid leave and flexibility, representation, and in which workers are safe, respected and treated fairly. We are centering women, people of color, justice-impacted communities, people with disabilities and other underrepresented groups in this work and are proud that our programs are changing women’s lives.
- Read the blog to learn more and get a sneak peek of what’s next for the WB
- Read the White House proclamation for Women’s Equality Day
Bringing You the Latest Data on Women in the Workforce
We’ve refreshed our Data and Statistics site to make it easier to get the information you want. Take a look to access data on labor force outcomes and characteristics such as geography, gender, race, ethnicity, educational attainment, family status and veteran status.
Ensuring Equity in Infrastructure
Acting Secretary Julie Su continued her Good Jobs Summer tour to promote the Department of Labor’s Good Jobs Principles and meet with workers who are benefitting from the Biden-Harris administration’s investments in the United States’ roads and bridges, manufacturing base and clean energy economy. In Phoenix she visited the Fresh Start Women’s Foundation, WB’s grantee through the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grant program, and met a group of women who received training, financial counseling, legal services and other resources and are now working in high-paying fields.
- Read about the good clean energy jobs being created by federal investments
- Access a toolkit on helping workers with disabilities get ahead through good jobs
Strengthening the Care Economy
August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month and the Department of Labor is spreading the word about the right to pump breastmilk at work. Our colleagues at the Wage and Hour Division have published a new resource for employers on their responsibilities with respect to workers who pump. Get it here.
- Access our flyer on workplace protections for nursing workers
- Read an article about using the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for postpartum mental health conditions
- Get more information about employment issues related to pregnancy, birth and nursing
Earlier this week, Acting Secretary Su and Women’s Bureau staff were in Chicago to help kick off the Care Can’t Wait national bus tour to raise awareness about our nation's care crisis. Under the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of Labor has prioritized making care more accessible, supporting caregivers and ensuring that care jobs are good jobs.
Eliminating Gender-Based Violence and Harassment in the World of Work
Women’s Bureau staff traveled to Chicago to present on gender-based violence and harassment and how it affects workers’ health and safety at the 2024 International UAW Women’s and TOP Conference, also attended by Acting Secretary Su. Unions and unionized workers have a key role to play in the adoption of workplace policies that prevent and address gender-based violence and harassment. Over the past year, WB staff have hosted more than 40 convenings on the topic and received a positive response from unions and union women.
- Watch our webinar series on gender-based violence and harassment as a workplace health and safety issue
- Read the blog
Upcoming Events
- Countdown to Retirement: Are You Ready? A Webinar for Workers Nearing Retirement (hosted by the Employee Benefits Security Administration) September 10, 2:00-4:00 p.m. EST. Register here.
- Working Together to End Exploitative Child Labor (hosted by the Women's Bureau and the Wage and Hour Division) September 12, 3:30-4:30 p.m. EST. Register here.
- Empowering Women 40+: Overcoming Workplace Challenges Together (hosted by the Women’s Bureau’s Southeast Region) September 24, 3:30-4:30 p.m. EST. Register here.
- Working with Older Women Workers (hosted by the Women’s Bureau’s Western Region) September 25, 2:00-2:30 p.m. PST. Register here.
Women's Bureau in the News
- Axios Richmond: Virginia doesn't guarantee paid parental leave, but access is expanding nationwide
- Axios San Diego: Planning for parental leave
- Center for Law and Social Policy: A Path Forward: Ensuring affordable and accessible child care for all
- Economic Policy Institute: Flexible work: What workers, especially low-wage workers, really want and how best to provide it
We Want to Hear from You!
“Occupational segregation” is the gendered sorting of men and women into different types of jobs. It leads to women being overrepresented in certain jobs, which are valued and compensated less than male-dominated jobs.
We’ve heard from many working women about their experiences with gendered job expectations, the challenges they face at work, the support systems that help them thrive and the policy changes that would help them succeed. We'd like to hear from you.
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