A Look Ahead at 2023
We anticipate a busy first quarter of the year, which we begin by looking forward to celebrating big anniversaries of landmark legislation, including: the 30th anniversary of Family Medical Leave Act, the 60th anniversary since the release of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women’s report, and the 60th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act.
Join us as we continue to work on advancing equal pay for women, improving job opportunities for women of color, eliminating sexual harassment and discrimination in the world of work, advocating for compensation of unpaid or underpaid care work, and helping to build a stronger national care infrastructure. We'll share key updates and important findings through the events, activities, and releases we have planned for Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and “Equal Pay” Day.
We look forward to publishing several important projects on older women workers’ employment and economic security, including retirement security; salary history bans/pay transparency; the opportunity cost of caregiving, and more. We hope you’ll join us this year for roundtables with workers, families, advocacy groups, and local- and federal-level government officials; webinars on our most critical issues; monthly discussions on specific strategies for effecting change; a return to in person events, and thought-provoking Q&As.
We invite you to follow us on Twitter at @WB_DOL, visit our website, and read our monthly newsletters to stay up to date on these and more upcoming events!
Welcome to New Women’s Bureau Staff
PHOTO (left to right): Gayle Goldin, WB Deputy Director; Leah Rambo, WB Deputy Director; Tammi L. Flemming, Infrastructure Investment Equity Fellow.
The Women’s Bureau is proud to welcome two deputy directors - Gayle Goldin, who previously served as a WB Senior Advisor and strategist and is a former Rhode Island state senator, and Leah Rambo, who comes to the WB after 35 years of experience and in leadership at the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation workers union. We are also elated to introduce our new Infrastructure Investment Equity Fellow Tammi L. Flemming.
National Database of Childcare Prices
Child care is a significant expense for families with children in paid care. It is significantly more expensive and burdensome in very large counties, for younger children, for families with more than one child in paid care, and for lower-income families. Last week, we released the most comprehensive federal source of childcare prices in the U.S., at the county level. The data, available from 2008 to 2018, show that childcare prices are untenable for families throughout the country and how urgently we need greater federal investments.
- Visit the website
- Read the brief
- Read the fact sheet
- Read the blog
- View the interactive map showing childcare prices
- View the interactive map showing childcare prices as a share of family income
Interagency Collaboration
Caption:Tammi Flemming (left) engaged in conversations with Orphaned Wells project team
Women’s Bureau Infrastructure Investment Equity Fellow, Tammi Fleming, recently conducted site visits across Louisiana, in partnership with DOL’s Good Jobs Initiative and our partnership with Department of Interior (DOI) on their Orphaned Well Program. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Authorized $4.7 billion in appropriations for fiscal years 2022 through 2030 to address orphaned wells. Louisiana received $25 million in the first round of funding to plug approximately 250 orphaned oil and gas wells across the state. Tammi’s visit included a series of site visits and roundtables focused on strategies, tools and resources to recruit, retain, and support women and other underserved populations in jobs created by these investments.
January Observances
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Every year, on the third Monday in January, we honor and remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s contributions to the fight for equality and justice in the U.S. An advocate for workers’ rights and the right of all individuals to a livable wage, Dr. King famously said, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The Women’s Bureau is committed to helping women workers learn about their employment rights and benefits through our Fostering Access, Rights and Equity (FARE) grant program. In 2022, we awarded nearly $2 million in FARE grant funding to six non-profit organizations that connect women workers to services, benefits and legal assistance. We are looking ahead to the next application cycle, which is scheduled to open in spring/summer 2023.
National Human Trafficking Prevention Month
National Human Trafficking Prevention Month is observed each January. According to Health and Human Services’ Office on Women's Health, in the U.S., most human trafficking victims come from within the U.S., and most victims are girls and women. The most vulnerable workers experience the greatest stresses at work and often have the least access to information and resources about their rights, and are less likely to be aware of, or are afraid to seek, worker protections that are available. This year the Women’s Bureau, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, sponsored a three-part webinar series to address human and labor trafficking, highlight access to resources, and provide information for employers on workplace rights and responsibilities.
National Mentoring Month
In celebration of National Mentoring Month and its emphasis on the importance of mentoring in helping Americans achieve their dreams, we want to highlight our Women in Apprenticeships and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grant program. WANTO exemplifies the importance of mentors and apprenticeship programs in helping women and women of color enter new industries. In 2022, the WANTO grant program awarded $3,400,000 to five community-based organizations to help get more women to participate in apprenticeship programs and nontraditional occupations.
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
On January 29, we marked the anniversary of the first piece of legislation President Barack Obama signed back in 2009. This law targeted wage discrimination based on sex. Today, on average women are still paid less than men at every educational attainment level and within nearly every occupation, and women of color have some of the largest wage gaps in the country. Among all those who work full-time, year-round, women are paid 84 cents for every dollar a man is paid. The rates for Black women and Hispanic women are even lower when compared to non-Hispanic white men, at 67 cents and 57 cents, respectively. Women are over-represented in low-paying occupations, often without paid leave or the job protections that make it easier to stay employed while caring for their own families.
- Compare women’s and men’s median earnings with our interactive tool
- Learn more about federal and state pay equity provisions
WB in the News:
Boston Globe: New Data Show Middlesex and Norfolk Counties Have Some Highest Child Care Costs
NewsRadio 1120 KMOX: Childcare Financially Out of Reach For Many Families In US
Business Insider: Childcare Is Unaffordable Almost Everywhere in the US
USA Today: Where is child care most expensive? New labor department data breaks down costs by county
Mondaq: Congress Bumped Up Workplace Protections for Pregnant and Nursing Employees
Upcoming Events
Equity in the Workplace: Black Women – Breaking the Glass Door and Claiming a Seat at the Table Part II
Join the Women’s Bureau for the next installment in our Equity in the Workplace series. The webinar will focus on eliminating systemic barriers that thwart the success of Black women in the workplace, with a panel discussion to include strategies for employers to improve workplace conditions.
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 view our #ThrowbackThursday series highlighting pioneering women, and to learn more about the latest research, initiatives, policies and updates related to working women and their families.