WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer today announced a $5 million funding opportunity for up to 14 grants to attract and retain more American workers in Registered Apprenticeship programs and high-growth industries like manufacturing, construction, and cybersecurity. 

Administered jointly by the department’s Women’s Bureau and Employment and Training Administration, the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grant program supports community-based organizations in their efforts to recruit, train, and retain more women in Registered Apprenticeships and high demand occupations. This announcement follows a thorough evaluation and realignment of the program, which will ensure WANTO grants help the department achieve President Trump’s goal of reaching one million new active apprentices. 

“Under President Trump’s leadership and our shared commitment to transparency, the department has been reviewing all taxpayer-funded grants to ensure they fulfill their intended purpose and help this Administration achieve our workforce goals. That’s why these WANTO grants are specifically tailored to bolstering the number of women in our Registered Apprenticeship programs, which will help fill the thousands of jobs being created under the President’s America First policies,” Secretary Chavez-DeRemer said.

The WANTO grants will help address the shortage of American workers across in-demand, highly skilled industries like construction, manufacturing, infrastructure, and cybersecurity. Since the beginning of the Trump Administration, more than 145,000 new apprentices have registered across the nation. Apprenticeships are a proven pathway to good-paying, family-sustaining jobs and help employers recruit, develop, and retain a highly skilled workforce.

Read more about past WANTO grant recipients.

Learn more about how to apply for the 2025 WANTO grants.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Women’s Bureau renewed a memorandum of understanding with the International Labour Organization office for the United States and Canada to continue working together to end gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work. 

The renewed agreement aims to strengthen care infrastructure - a key priority for the department and the ILO - by promoting international best practices into U.S. policy and programs, while also elevating domestic initiatives and progress in global meetings and exchanges. 

Under the agreement, the Women’s Bureau and ILO, with support from the department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs, will continue to convene workers, union representatives, employers and government representatives to identify and share strategies to eliminate gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work. A central focus will be the strategies outlined in the U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, which incorporates principles from the ILO’s Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment. 

Building on the successful model established under the 2023 agreement, the Women’s Bureau, ILO and ILAB will engage in domestic and international meetings over the next year to promote regional, national and international best practices to address gender-based violence and harassment and strengthen the care economy. 

“Since we began working with the International Labour Organization’s office for the United States and Canada, we have seen the power of collective action to end gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work. Through over 40 regional and national convenings, we have heard firsthand from workers, unions, employers and government representatives about how we can enact worker and survivor-led solutions and shift culture to end gender-based violence and harassment,” said Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon. 

The partnership will also support the outcomes of the ILO’s General Discussion Committee on Decent Work and the Care Economy, while centering the voices of women workers in policy and programmatic solutions.

“The International Labour Organization’s partnership with the Women’s Bureau brings workers, employers and local government leaders to learn from each other and tackle gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work. We can learn from effective responses and good practices around the U.S. and other countries, and across all sectors in the world of work,” said Director Amber Barth of the International Labour Organization office for the United States and Canada. 

“Convention 190’s rights-based approach, which covers all workers, regardless of their employment relationship, expands the range of action-oriented strategies available to our partners in the U.S. We look forward to increasing the implementation of the principles of C190 as we work with the Women’s Bureau in conjunction with ILAB to contribute to the objectives of the United States on this critical issue for building respectful workplaces everywhere,” Barth added.

Director Chun-Hoon added: “Through this renewed partnership, we look forward to continuing to work together over the next year in various domestic and international spaces to support care workers and ensure that workers are safe and respected wherever they work.”

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the release of new research it commissioned that found a national paid family and medical leave program would reduce poverty across all communities and diminish the poverty gap among workers, especially Black and Hispanic workers who experience some of the highest poverty rates. 

The department’s Women’s Bureau commissioned the research from the Urban Institute, which includes a report analyzing the potential effect a universal and national paid family and medical leave policy would have on America’s workers, a literature review on the impacts of paid leave and a brief on the impact of state paid leave policies on taxes. The research also includes four state-specific reports estimating the costs and benefits of proposed paid family and medical leave policies in Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Washington. 

Only 13 states and the District of Columbia currently have paid family and medical leave programs. As of March 2023, only 27 percent of civilian workers had access to paid family leave through their employer and 41 percent of civilian workers had access to short-term disability insurance through their employer. Among the lowest-wage earners, just 6 percent have access to paid leave through their employers. According to the Urban Institute, the adoption of national paid family and medical leave providing workers up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for themselves or a loved one, similar to what was proposed in the FAMILY Act, could mean 97 percent of workers are eligible for benefits. Moreover, benefits from a universal, national policy with equitable policy design features – including broad worker coverage, low earnings requirements, progressive wage replacement and other features modeled on recent state programs – would reduce poverty by 16 percent among people in families receiving paid leave benefits.

“The new Urban Institute findings further build the already strong case for paid family and medical leave,” said Women’s Bureau Deputy Director Gayle Goldin. “This report shows that a comprehensive paid family and medical leave program keeps people out of poverty. It means more people would stay financially stable when they experience health and caregiving needs, and it would help employers recruit and retain workers.” 

Goldin added, “We know paid leave supports women’s labor force participation and increases the gross domestic product. Investing in families works for everyone.”

View the new reports and learn more. 

WASHINGTON – The newly updated National Database of Childcare Prices shows the price of child care for U.S. families is more than a month’s rent for many, forcing parents with younger children to spend a significant portion of family income on these expenses, the U.S. Department of Labor announced today.

Sponsored by the department’s Women’s Bureau, the database includes county-level median prices for center- and home-based providers for children from ages 0 to 12. It covers prices from 2008 to 2022 in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, making it the most comprehensive public federal source of childcare prices at the county level.

The latest finding follows the addition of prices from 2019 to 2022 and an analysis of childcare prices in 2,512 U.S. counties. 

“The fact that the median cost of center-based infant care is more than the median cost of rent should be of urgent concern,” said Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon. “Families are struggling and women are disproportionately impacted. We know interventions like the American Rescue Plan have helped, but more federal investments are needed to ensure child care is accessible and affordable for all.” 

Nationwide, the NDCP finds families spend between 8.9 percent and 16 percent of their median income for full-day care for one child with 2022 annual prices ranging from $6,552 to $15,600. The counties where center infant prices demand the highest share of median family income include Stearns County, Minnesota; Bronx County, New York; Piute County, Utah; Essex County, Vermont; Grays Harbor and Wahkiakum counties in Washington; and Guanica County, Puerto Rico.

Explore the NDCP website to learn more.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $6 million in funding to help recruit, train and retain more women in quality pre-apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship programs, as well as in nontraditional occupations. 

The Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grants will enable organizations in eight states and the District of Columbia to provide training programs in skilled building trades, advanced manufacturing and information technology. 

“As the Biden-Harris administration continues to improve the lives of working people, create family-sustaining jobs and grow an economy that works for everyone, we’re focused on gender equity and making sure all communities benefit,” said Acting Secretary Julie Su. “Our Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grants support programs that train women for good union jobs, build equity into our workforce development system and provide employers a pipeline of talent for critical, in-demand roles.” 

Administered by the department’s Women’s Bureau and Employment and Training Administration, WANTO grants provide technical assistance to support women’s participation in fields where they are traditionally underrepresented, such as construction, advanced manufacturing, energy, technology and transportation. Grant recipients can use a portion of their funding to support services such as childcare, transportation, tuition and work-related gear. 

The nine recipients represent the department’s largest award to date, a $1 million increase over 2023 funding. 

“Good jobs are those that provide stable and equitable pay with benefits in a safe, healthy and accessible workplace. Good jobs change lives. We are committed to ensuring the good jobs created by President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda include opportunities for women and other communities that have been shut out of higher-paying careers,” said Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon. 

“Our Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grants help women prepare for those careers, with critical training support and wrap-around services that ensure workers have what they need to not only survive, but to thrive in the workplace,” Chun-Hoon added.

Learn more about the WANTO grant program and this year’s recipients.

The recipients of the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grants are as follows:

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau welcomed elected officials and leaders from the entertainment industry and advocacy groups on Sept. 17, 2024, for “Beyond 9 to 5: The Ongoing Fight for Gender Equality in the Workplace,” a screening of new documentary on gender equity followed by a moderated discussion on the issue in the workplace.

After screening the film “Still Working 9 to 5,” an examination of the evolution of gender equity in the workplace inspired by the 1980 feature film “9 to 5,” Acting Secretary Julie Su moderated a talk back focused on pay equity, occupational segregation, gender-based violence and harassment, discrimination and lack of access to quality and affordable care. 

The panel discussion included the documentary’s co-producers Camille Hardman and Gary Lane; National Women’s Law Center President and CEO Fatima Goss Graves; Young Feminist Party Deputy Executive Director Claudia Nachega; former Women’s Bureau Director and now activist Karen Nussbaum; and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Sisters in the Brotherhood Director Sandra Rodriguez.

“Watching the documentary emphasized the original film’s thoughtfulness and the ways it perfectly depicted the themes the Department of Labor celebrates today. It showed that when workers have a voice, they can affect change in their workplace and that strengthening support services can increase happiness and lead to better productivity,” said Acting Secretary Julie Su. “While we have made some progress, issues that negatively affect women’s participation in the workplace remain. Under President Biden’s leadership, we continue to invest in good jobs for women. When we talk about ‘good jobs’ for women workers, we mean jobs that pay based on the work they do, not based on their gender, and jobs where all workers have dignity, respect and can exercise their rights and power.”

“Four decades after this groundbreaking original film highlighted a culture that devalued working women, we still see women across professions fighting for fair wages and the ability to work with safety, dignity, and equity. I’m proud of the critical work the National Women’s Law Center leads to help pass laws combatting the scourge of harassment and workplace policies and conditions that allow discrimination to thrive,” said NWLC President and CEO Fatima Goss Graves. “More than 40 years later, ‘Still Working 9 to 5’ is a timely, galvanizing reminder that with laws and policies that give women equitable opportunities in the workplace we can transform a culture that undervalues women.”

Camille Hardman, who also directed the film, expressed her gratitude to the department for showcasing the film, saying: “The Women’s Bureau fosters a supportive and active environment that helps push the door open and encourage challenging conversations around women’s equality, care, job segregation, family leave and sexual harassment that can only lead to long-term needed culture change in the workplace and the labor movement.” 

When asked about his role as co-producer for the film, Gary Lane stated, “I feel it’s very important that men need to be involved in the conversation for real change to happen.” 

Young Feminist Party Deputy Executive Director Claudia Nachega said one of the things the documentary reinforced was the need to include all voices – especially young people’s voices – for a movement to be effective. “Today, young people are bearing the brunt of attacks on abortion access, queer and transgender rights, economic inequality and more. The original movie was a call to action for congress to provide a concrete, constitutional legal system to fight gender injustice,” Nachega said. “Then and now, we know the Equal Rights Amendment is key, and young people need the President to act and publish the ERA at the request of congressional leaders and young people across the country.”

Director Chun-Hoon cited the event as one more way to keep the conversation going. “The Biden-Harris administration has centered women, people of color, people with disabilities and other communities that have disproportionately been left out of workplace gains, but there’s still work to be done,” said Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon. “This critical conversation about the progress to date and the continued work needed to establish and maintain access to good jobs that offer family-sustaining wages, paid leave and flexibility and where workers are safe and respected is crucial to the mission of the Women’s Bureau.”

Acting Secretary Su closed the evening by considering how women’s rights in the workplace will change over the next 40 years. “We acknowledge there are many challenges, but each of the leaders, activists, organizers in this room – with the full power of the Department of Labor – can drive things forward. All of us do this kind of work because we believe change is possible.”

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $1.4 million in funding to support efforts by four community organizations to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and harassment against underserved and marginalized women workers.

Administered by the department’s Women’s Bureau and the Employment and Training Administration, the Fostering Access, Rights and Equity grants will help survivors and women at high risk for violence and harassment in the workplace.

“The Biden-Harris administration is changing lives by creating, growing and supporting good jobs, where workers are safe, respected and treated fairly. We can only do that by eliminating gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work. The Fostering Access, Rights and Equity grants announced today represent an important investment toward that goal,” said Acting Secretary Julie Su. “The FARE Grant program helps women workers to know their rights, create tools to prevent and address gender-based violence and harassment, and by so doing, empower workers and advance gender equity.”

The FARE grant program supports community organizations’ efforts to address gender-based violence and harassment. Workplace violence and harassment disproportionately harms women from underserved and historically marginalized communities, including women of color, LGBTQI+ individuals, women with disabilities and women affected by persistent poverty and inequality. 

The grants announced today will have wide-reaching impact by supporting programs that – while based in California, Massachusetts and Ohio – will serve workers across the country, with support in states such as Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina and Oregon.

“Workplace safety is more than preventing hazards such as falls, fires or chemical exposure; it also means freedom from gender-based violence and harassment,” explained Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon. “The Biden-Harris administration has been a champion for ending gender-based violence, releasing the first-ever U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, a roadmap for a whole-of-government effort to prevent and address gender-based violence in the U.S., including at work. The Women’s Bureau is committed to continuing the effort to eliminate gender-based violence in the world of work through the FARE grants.”

Grant recipients will use FARE funding to accomplish the following:

• Create and distribute worker and survivor-centered educational materials to build awareness.
• Develop programs that mitigate risks and prevent workplace gender-based violence and harassment.
• Connect working women with services, benefits and legal assistance.
• Facilitate and encourage working women and survivors to become focal points in their communities through training, guided conversations, leadership circles or other activities. 

The department awarded the following FARE grants:

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor welcomed former Secretary of Labor and current White House Senior Advisor Tom Perez, other federal officials, state paid leave administrators, researchers and other stakeholders to the department’s Washington headquarters on June 26, 2024, to discuss the latest research on paid family and medical leave and how these programs can be implemented equitably.

Organized by the department’s Women’s Bureau, the “Paid Leave: Equity in Implementation” conference had an in-person and online audience of approximately 200. In conjunction with the conference, the Women’s Bureau released their latest paid leave issue brief of 2024.

“Having a paid leave law on the books is not enough,” said Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon. “The design of the program and the way in which it’s implemented also need to be equitable.” 

During the conference, Perez highlighted the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to paid family and medical leave. In his 2025 budget proposal, the President announced his plan to establish a national paid family and medical leave program. Administered by the Social Security Administration, the program would provide eligible employees up to 12 weeks of leave to care for and bond with a new child; care for a seriously ill loved one; heal from their own serious illness; address circumstances arising from a loved one’s military deployment; or find safety from domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

Representatives of the Urban Institute presented initial research finding that a national policy that replaces a higher share of wages for lower-wage workers would reduce poverty, while researchers from New America, Brandeis University and UCLA’s WORLD Policy Analysis Center shared research on promising paid-leave programs in the U.S. and internationally.

The conference included remarks from department officials, including Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security Lisa M. Gomez, Chief Evaluation Officer Alix Gould-Werth, Chief Economist Sarah Jane Glynn, Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman and Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy Taryn M. Williams. 

Attendees also listened as state officials and community-based organizations discussed best practices at work in New Jersey to promote paid family medical leave.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Labor welcomed leaders from the International Labor Organization and other international, federal, state and local government officials and stakeholders to the department’s Washington headquarters on June 18 for the first Women’s Bureau summit to discuss collective efforts to prevent and address gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work. 

Attended in-person and online by an audience of more than 350, “Gender-Based Violence and Harassment in Focus: A Summit to Create an Equitable World of Work” marked the first anniversary of the Biden-Harris administration’s release of the National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.  

Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su began the event with pre-recorded remarks and Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon offered opening comments. 

“The resurgence of the #MeToo movement in 2017 raised to our collective consciousness about just how pervasive gender-based violence and harassment is in our communities, including in our places of work,” said Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon. “Today’s summit will focus on the importance of identifying, responding to, and preventing gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work in order to create safe and healthy workplaces for all workers… But today’s Summit is just the beginning. We need widespread change in order to prevent and address gender-based violence and harassment in our places of work.” 

Panelists discussed how the National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence and principles from ILO Convention 190 can provide a framework for preventing and addressing gender-based violence and harassment in the U.S.; how gender-based violence and harassment is a safety and health issue; and how worker-led movements are key to helping to eliminate gender-based violence and harassment. 

The following federal representatives, policy experts and advocates spoke at the Summit: 

• Deputy Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Amanda Edens
• Deputy Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health James Frederick
• Associate Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Molly McCoy
• Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women Director Rosie Hidalgo
• ILO Office for U.S. and Canada Director Amber Barth
• ILO Gender, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Branch Chief Chidi King
• Canadian Department of Employment and Social Development Director Rakesh Patry
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Vice Chair Jocelyn Samuels
• Senior Advisor to the White House Gender Policy Council Catherine Powell
• Screen Actors Guild-AFTRA Executive Vice President Linda Powell
• Partner, Accelerate Strategies and former professional soccer player Mana Shim
• President and Founder of Justice for Migrant Women Mónica Ramírez

During the afternoon component of the summit, in-person attendees moved to breakout sessions for small group discussions about strategies and tactics to advance efforts to eliminate gender-based violence in the world of work. 

View the recording of “Gender-Based Violence and Harassment in Focus: A Summit to Create an Equitable World of Work.”

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a funding opportunity of $6 million for up to 17 grants to attract and keep women in Registered Apprenticeship programs and industries where they are underrepresented, including manufacturing, construction and cybersecurity. 

Administered jointly by the department’s Women’s Bureau and Employment and Training Administration, the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Grant Program supports community-based organizations in their efforts to recruit, train and retain more women in Registered Apprenticeships and nontraditional occupations.   

Women make up nearly half the U.S. labor force but only about 14 percent of all Registered Apprenticeships, a proven pathway to good-paying, family-sustaining jobs and a pipeline for employers to recruit, develop and retain a highly skilled and diverse workforce. 

The WANTO grants will help address the significant underrepresentation of women in Registered Apprenticeships in skilled trades such as construction and in emerging, high-growth industries such as manufacturing, infrastructure, cybersecurity and healthcare. 

Read about the 2023 WANTO grant recipients. 

Learn more about the 2024 Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grants and apply.