Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Grant Announcement
Yesterday, Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon announced the seven 2023 Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grantees. Through WANTO, the Women’s Bureau funds organizations that expand pathways for women to enter and lead in all industries by recruiting, mentoring, training and retaining more women in quality pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs. Many programs funded by WANTO train women in nontraditional fields such as construction, information technology, energy and advanced manufacturing.
Congratulations to Ada Developers Academy (Washington State), AFL-CIO Working for America Institute (which will manage a program in Alabama), Hope Renovations (North Carolina), Moore Community House (Mississippi), Rhode Island Women in the Trades, SER-Jobs for Progress of the Texas Gulf Coast, Inc. and Vincentian Ohio Action Network.
Fostering Access, Rights and Equity Grant Announcement
On September 19, Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon announced more than $1.5 million in funding to help community-based organizations prevent and respond to gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work. The five recipients of the Fostering Access, Rights and Equity (FARE) grants will do outreach to workers in 14 states: California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.
Congratulations to Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc.; Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Philadelphia Area Project on Occupational Safety and Health; Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) United, Inc.; and The SAFE Alliance.
- Read the press release
- Learn more about the FARE grant
- Read our NEW blog about the three grants the Women’s Bureau has awarded in Fiscal Year 2023
New and Updated Resources
Equity in Infrastructure toolkit
Earlier this month, the Women’s Bureau released a new toolkit for Building an Equitable Infrastructure Workforce. This module provides guidance on strategies and best practices for recruiting and retaining women in construction, manufacturing and clean energy jobs and can be used by a wide range of stakeholders. The strategies should be viewed as a menu of options and entry points to either initiate new projects and programs or fill the gaps in existing work, depending on the community and workforce needs.
National Database of Childcare Prices update
The National Database of Childcare Prices (NDCP) is the most comprehensive federal source of childcare prices at the county level. The NDCP shows that child care is a significant expense for families with children in paid care and that childcare prices are untenable for families throughout the country. Childcare prices continue to increase, with prices up about 6 percent nationally in the past year, outpacing inflation. These price increases are reflected in the updated, inflation-adjusted 2023 childcare price estimates in the NDCP interactive maps. We also released a new table that provides state-level childcare prices for 2018 and inflation-adjusted estimates for 2023.
- Visit the NDCP website
- View the interactive map showing childcare prices
- View the interactive map showing childcare prices as a share of family income
Updated Nursing Employees Workplace protections flyer in Spanish
What rights do nursing employees have in the workplace? The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, which updated the FLSA, require employers to provide eligible employees with reasonable break time to pump breast milk for one year after their child’s birth and with a private place other than a bathroom to pump. Our updated fact sheet breaks it down.
- View the updated Nursing Employees Workplace Protections Flyer in Spanish and in English (PDF)
- Get resources for employment issues related to pregnancy, birth and nursing
September Observances
Labor Day
Each September we celebrate Labor Day, honoring workers around the country whose contributions power America’s strength, prosperity and well-being. The Department of Labor marked Labor Day 2023 by promoting good jobs that empower workers while building a more inclusive and sustainable workplace for all.
On September 18, the department inducted the El Monte Thai Garment Workers into the Labor Hall of Honor. These workers, who had been enslaved by their employers, helped expose abusive labor practices in 1995 and spurred changes in legal protections for workers nationwide.
- See why and how we celebrate workers on Labor Day
- Hear Women’s Bureau Deputy Director Gayle Goldin share about her best job
- Read the presidential proclamation
- Watch the 2023 Induction Ceremony of the El Monte Thai Garment Workers into the Labor Hall of Honor
- Review the readout from the ceremony
National Grandparents Day
On September 10, we marked National Grandparents Day, honoring the many grandparents who go above and beyond. In the U.S., more than 2 million grandparents are living with and raising at least one of their grandchildren, and the vast majority have been doing so for a long time. The Women’s Bureau released a new resource that examines the numbers state by state.
Back to School
As we mark Back to School season, the Biden-Harris administration is rolling out a plan that could help more than 20 million borrowers pay off their student debt. The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan is an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan that calculates student debt payments based on a borrower’s income and family size – not their loan balance – and forgives remaining balances after a certain number of years.
The plan will cut many borrowers’ monthly payments to zero, will save other borrowers around $1,000 per year, will prevent balances from growing because of unpaid interest and will get more borrowers closer to forgiveness faster. It builds on the actions the administration has already taken to support students and borrowers, including canceling more than $116 billion in student loan debt for 3.4 million Americans.
If you’re interested in signing up for the SAVE plan, visit StudentAid.gov/SAVE.
In Case You Missed It
Maternal & Infant Health Summit
Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon participated in the 2023 National Maternal & Infant Health Summit, hosted by Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. She joined a panel featuring Mayor Bowser, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Dr. Ayanna Bennett, Acting Director of DC Health, where she discussed paid leave, protections for pregnant employees and the importance of partnerships between government and employers to implement changes that benefit both workers and the economy.
Equity in Infrastructure
The Women’s Bureau’s Northeast team partnered with Vermont Works for Women and the Vermont Agency of Transportation to host “Equity in Infrastructure Across Vermont” on September 21. Deputy Director Leah Rambo offered remarks to attendees on behalf of the Women’s Bureau. Other speakers included a panel of tradeswomen and pre-apprentices; Shauna Clifford from the Vermont Agency of Transportation; and Cindy Robillard from the Vermont Department of Labor. Audience members included tradeswomen, state officials, workforce development partners, and congressional staff members.
Upcoming Events
Visualizing a World of Work Without Gender-Based Violence and Harassment
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. We invite you to join us for an important conversation on domestic violence (DV) and how it might compound experiences of gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH). Learn innovative ways employers can approach their response to DV and GBVH in the workplace in this first webinar in a series of GBVH discussions hosted by our Western Region. We will be joined by representatives from Futures Without Violence and FreeFrom.
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
2:00 – 3:00 pm PT | 5:00 – 6:00 pm ET
Register: https://usdolee.webex.com/weblink/register/r3adf9b702013635a1111ef09ba1f5acf
WB in the News
- Spectrum News 1: Labor Department givers $5M to boost women in apprenticeships
- Baltimore Sun: Baltimore migrant workers’ rights organization gets federal grant to fight gender-based workplace harassment
- Chicago Sun-Times: Labor Day 2023: A time to reflect on creating an equal workforce for all
- The Salt Lake Tribune: Opinion | How we can reach economic and social equality for women in the workplace
- The Seattle Times: Don’t leave women out of workforce investments
- AlbanyHerald.com: MARLAINA GUILLAUME: Capitalizing on workforce investments is capitalizing on America’s future | Opinion
- Bizwomen: Women undervalue their skills in salary negotiations
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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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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