US Labor Departments Womens Bureau to host March 24 conference in Kansas City, Mo., on workplace flexibility for retail employees

Business, policy, academic, HR representatives and workers invited to attend

KANSAS CITY, Mo. The U.S. Department of Labor s Women s Bureau will host a National Dialogue on Workplace Flexibility on Thursday, March 24, from 8 a.m. to noon CDT at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center, 4801 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, Mo. 64110. The event will build on the message and momentum of the 2010 White House Flexibility Forum, and will focus on challenges and solutions for workers in the retail industry.

The Women s Bureau has chosen to focus on workplace flexibility because of its importance to our nation s working families, businesses and economy, said Dorothy Witherspoon, administrator of the Women s Bureau s Kansas City Regional Office. The Labor Department is committed to helping Americans achieve a better balance between work and family responsibilities.

The forum will feature guest speakers, including Sara Manzano-D az, director of the Women s Bureau, and Steve Wing, president of Corporate Voices for Working Families. Representatives from the Retail Action Project, Build-A-Bear Inc. and William Jewell College will participate in panel discussions moderated by KMBC-TV 9 s community affairs director, Olivia Dorsey. Breakout sessions will give participants a chance to share best practices, expand their knowledge and support base for flexibility options, and discuss innovative ways to make flexibility work.

Retail businesses representatives, associations, policymakers, work/life professionals, advocacy groups, academia, human resource professionals and workers are invited to attend.

Register for the forum online at http://webapps.dol.gov/wb/WBEvents/WBEvents/Public/SelectRegions.aspx. The forum is free but pre-registration is required by visiting this Web page and selecting Region 7. For more information on the event, contact Carla Tillmon in the Women s Bureau at 816-285-7234.

Press interested in covering this event should contact Gloria Della or Rich Kulczewski in the Labor Department s Office of Public Affairs using the information above.

The Women s Bureau, established by Congress in 1920, is the only federal agency designated to represent the needs of working women. Today, the bureau s goal is to empower all working women to achieve economic security by preparing them for well-paying jobs, ensuring fair compensation, promoting workplace flexibility and helping homeless women veterans reintegrate into the workforce. For more information about the Women s Bureau, visit http://www.dol.gov/wb.