Happy Holidays from the Women’s Bureau!
Top Highlights of 2023
Here are some of the ways the Women's Bureau made an impact in 2023.
(1) We published more than 50 issue briefs, reports, infographics and other research.
National Database of Childcare Prices
- This database, the first ever to track childcare prices at the county level broken down by age of the child and care setting, shows that no matter where you live in the U.S., childcare expenses are untenable for families. Get the data.
Cost of Doing Nothing update
- We updated a 2015 Department of Labor report and found that if the U.S. invested in working families and care infrastructure the way other peer countries do, we could add $775 billion to the economy annually. See the update.
Lifetime Employment-Related Costs to Women of Providing Family Care
- This report from the Urban Institute, commissioned by the Women's Bureau, shows that unpaid family caregiving reduces a mother's lifetime earnings by 15 percent on average. Find it here.
(2) We released more than a dozen resources for workers, employers and other stakeholders.
Sample Employment Agreements for Domestic Workers
- The Women's Bureau and DOL's Wage and Hour Division developed sample employment agreements that both domestic workers (cleaners, nannies and home care workers) and employers can use to create a shared understanding of the terms of employment. Get them here.
Tools for Building an Equitable Infrastructure Workforce
- This toolkit provides best practices for recruiting and retaining women in construction, manufacturing and clean energy jobs. Read it now.
Nursing Employees Workplace Protections
- One of our most downloaded products, this flyer lays out the rights of nursing employees in English and Spanish.
(3) We funded over a dozen organizations to improve conditions for working women.
2023 Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grants
- We awarded $5 million in grants, a 47 percent increase over 2022, to seven community-based organizations to increase women's participation in apprenticeship programs and jobs in construction, manufacturing and clean energy. Learn more here.
2023 Fostering Access, Rights and Equity (FARE) grants
- We awarded $1.5 million in grants to five community-based organizations to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work, a first for the Department of Labor. Read the press release and watch a video clip from the announcement.
2023 Tradeswomen Building Infrastructure grants
- We awarded $1.35 million in grants to fund teams around the U.S. to create pathways for women into building trades apprenticeships and public works construction careers. Get more information.
(4) We served as the eyes and ears of the federal government with respect to working women and gender equity.
Key stakeholder conversations
- We helped to lead more than 20 events on ending gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work as part of the first-ever National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.
- We helped to lead the conversation on investing in women as part of the Biden-Harris administration's federal infrastructure investments, including more than 30 events where we shared stories, best practices and resources.
Director's global work on gender equity
- Women's Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon joined a first-of-its-kind interagency delegation that traveled to El Salvador and Honduras in support of the Biden-Harris administration's Central America Forward initiative. View the readout and photos.
- Director Chun-Hoon also traveled to Geneva, Switzerland to attend the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) annual technical meetings and speak at an International Labour Organization event celebrating the first International Day of Care and Support. View a photo.
December Observances
Global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
Between Nov. 25 and Dec. 10, the Women’s Bureau put a special focus on preventing and addressing gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work. We released several new resources, including videos and blog posts written in collaboration with sister agencies. Stay tuned in the next few months as we build on this work with a series of webinars on gender-based violence and harassment.
- Read our blog co-written with DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration on how employers can prevent gender-based violence and harassment
- Watch the accompanying YouTube short
- Review the blog we co-wrote with DOL’s Bureau of International Affairs on collective action to prevent gender-based violence and harassment
- Find all of our resources on gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work
In Case You Missed It
Women’s Bureau staff were pleased to take part in the 2023 Tradeswomen Build Nations convening in Washington, D.C. Deputy Director Leah Rambo (above center), a former sheet metal worker, presented on a panel on federal policy and led WB staff in the union parade.
Meeting with Women Apprentices
This month Director Wendy Chun-Hoon (far right) traveled to North Carolina, where she spoke at a North Carolina Justice Center event and met with women apprentices and stakeholders at She Built This City in Charlotte. Southeast Regional Administrator Marlaina Guillaume is on the far left.
Women, Wealth, Power
Director Chun-Hoon (left) also traveled to California to participate in the 2024 Gender Equity Summit hosted by the California Partners Project and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom (center). She spoke about WB’s work to ensure women are getting jobs in construction, manufacturing and clean energy and shared our equity module, Tools for Building an Equitable Infrastructure Workforce.
Upcoming Events:
Advancing Fair Pay: 15 Years After the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
January 29, 2024, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. PDT (3 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT)
Join the WB’s Western region and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for a webinar marking the 15th anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. We will showcase strategies to address unequal pay since the Ledbetter Act and highlight the story of Sandra Maas, a news anchor who brought a case under the expanded California Equal Pay Act. We will also share WB resources and examples of technical assistance that leaders in other states can take advantage of.
WB in the News
- The Labor Times: Optimizing equity is key to meeting our infrastructure goals
- MSN: Biden Announces Large-Scale Federal Construction Projects Will Now Require Labor Agreements
- Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on X: Video with Cleveland tradeswoman and contractor Fatima
- Business Insider: Millennial and Gen Z parents are struggling
- The Hill: More dads are choosing to stay home with their kids. Here’s why
- The Intelligencer: Manufacturers concerned about childcare gap in West Virginia
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.
Follow the Women's Bureau on Twitter: @WB_DOL
The Women’s Bureau has championed the rights of working women and served as a convener of conversations critical to an equitable economy for women for more than 100 years.
Follow us at @WB_DOL to learn more about the latest research, initiatives, policies and updates related to working women and their families.