Women’s Bureau Announces Over $3 Million to Fund Women in Apprenticeships and Nontraditional Occupations
In a Sept. 9 ceremony in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty J. Walsh announced $3.3 million in grant funding to help recruit, train and retain more women in quality pre-apprenticeship and registered apprenticeship programs and in nontraditional occupations.
View Walsh’s remarks, as well as those of Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon, who also spoke at the event.
Administered by the department's Women's Bureau and Employment and Training Administration, the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grants were awarded to organizations in California, Mississippi, New York, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Find out more about the WANTO grant program and the new recipients.
DOL Awards $2 Million in Grants for #KnowYourRights Initiative
The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded $2 million in grant funding to organizations to develop partnerships with community-based organizations and other non-profits. The partnerships will focus on outreach to women workers who are paid low wages to help them understand and access their rights and benefits in the workplace. “As our nation continues its recovery, we must include targeted programming for women workers who are affected by the coronavirus pandemic disproportionately,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie A. Su. “Fostering Access, Rights and Equity grants fund vital partnerships to help inform women about their rights and benefits and ensure that women workers share in the prosperity of the nation’s economic recovery.”
Administered jointly by the department’s Women’s Bureau and Employment and Training Administration, the Fostering Access Rights and Equity (FARE) grants support education; guidance on obtaining and calculating benefits; and access to additional services, benefits and/or legal assistance.
International Equal Pay Day 2021 and the Equal Pay International Coalition
On Sept. 17, the eve of International Equal Pay Day, Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon and the International Labor Affairs Bureau Deputy Undersecretary Thea Lee delivered joint remarks at an International Equal Pay Day event led by the International Labor Organization (ILO), UN Women, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The United States recently joined the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), along with other governments, civil society organizations, trade unions, employer organizations, and businesses, to make progress on reducing the gender wage gap at the global, regional and national levels.
To mark the occasion, Wendy Chun-Hoon and Thea Lee also published a blog on advancing equal pay at home and abroad.
Additional Apprenticeship Funding Opportunity DEADLINE 10/18/21
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the availability of funds for up to four new contracts to launch or expand Registered Apprenticeship models in industries impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as in industries that have not traditionally used apprenticeship. This funding will target the following sectors:
- Care economy sectors serving individuals, families, the elderly and persons with disabilities, to provide community food and housing, vocational rehabilitation services and childcare services;
- Electric power generation, transmission and distribution;
- Key supply chains including semi-conductors, advanced batteries, critical minerals and strategic materials, pharmaceuticals and active ingredients and transportation equipment manufacturing; and
- Transportation and logistics operations for supply chain distribution including air, rail, water and support activities.
Blog: Latina Workers in the Labor Force
Women’s Bureau Deputy Director Analilia Mejia published a blog to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 – Oct. 15, and to celebrate the contributions of Latinas to the American labor force. Mejia writes about the obstacles her mother faced as a seamstress, many of which Latina workers continue to endure today, more than 50 years after the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Taking the Mystery out of Retirement Planning
On Sept. 2, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, along with the Women’s Bureau, the Social Security Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Administration for Community Living, presented a webcast about key issues women face in planning for retirement. Speakers included Tiffany Boiman, Director of the Women's Bureau Office of Policy and Programs, who spoke on the implications of women's employment for lifetime economic security. Boiman also co-authored a blog highlighting some of the challenges that women, in particular, face with financial planning as they age.
WB in the News
Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon was recently quoted in a Bloomberg article about the child care crisis in the U.S.: “Because we lacked a care infrastructure heading in [to the pandemic], everything was worse for women and women's labor force participation.”
WPVI-TV6 Philadelphia captured Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh's recent visit to the city to announce the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grants.
DOL Hosts Dialogue to Promote Workforce Equity
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is hosting a dialogue—a virtual forum or town hall—through early October to gather ideas that will inform its initiatives on employment and economic opportunities for people from historically underserved communities. Through this dialogue, DOL is working to ensure that its programs and activities contribute toward a more equitable labor market. The forum is an opportunity for stakeholders to share information and resources that will ultimately help underserved groups find high-quality jobs that pay family-sustaining wages.
The Women’s Bureau is co-hosting the dialogue with the Department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, Employment and Training Administration, Wage and Hour Division, and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
Data Update: Labor Force Statistics by Veteran Status
The Women’s Bureau posted updated data and visualizations on labor force participation, employment and unemployment by gender, veteran status and period of military service.
New White House Fact Sheet: Multigenerational Care and the Build Back Better Agenda
On Sept. 21, the White House released a fact sheet delineating how the Build Back Better Framework will support those who have multigenerational caregiving responsibilities by expanding access to long-term care services, lowering health care and child care costs, offering universal preschool, expanding the child tax credit, and more. Coined the "sandwich generation," more than 1 in 10 parents had a child under 18 in the home and were also providing unpaid care to an adult as of 2018.
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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.
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