The United States Women's Bureau (WB) is an agency of the United States government within the United States Department of Labor

United States Department of Labor

The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...

. The WB was established by Congress in 1920 and continues its responsibility to carry out Public Law 66-259; 29 U.S.C. 11-16.29 (1920) to '...formulate standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable employment.' It is the only federal agency mandated to represent the needs of wage-earning women in the public policy process. The Director is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. He or she is supported by a staff in the national office as well as ten regional offices.

History

Over the years, the WB has addressed a variety of issues important to working women.

• In 1922, the WB investigated and reported on the conditions facing 'negro women in industry.'
• The WB successfully advocated for the inclusion of women under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which, for the first time, set minimum wages and maximum working hours.
• During World War II
  World War II
  World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
  
  , the WB worked to achieve more skills training, wider job opportunities, higher wages and better working conditions for the 'new' female workforce.
• In the 1950s, the WB focused on 'older women as office workers.'
• The WB played an instrumental role in the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963
  Equal Pay Act of 1963
  The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is a United States federal law amending the Fair Labor Standards Act, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex . It was signed into law on June 10, 1963 by John F. Kennedy as part of his New Frontier Program...
  
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• In 1982, the WB launched a major initiative to encourage employer-sponsored child care, followed by the establishment of a multi-media Work and Family Clearinghouse in 1989 and worked for the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.
• In 1996, the WB published a fact sheet on domestic violence as a workplace issue.

Current status

Currently, the WB is assisting working women in a variety of ways by:

• Providing financial education to Generation X and Y women through a curriculum offered online and in classroom settings in a program called Wi$eUp
• Helping business owners to develop policies and provide workplace flexibility for working women through the Flex-Options project
• Introducing young women to the field of nanotechnology
• Serving women in economic and employment transitions that are implemented by Women Work! The National Network for Women’s Employment
• Publishing fact sheets and electronic newsletters that address workplace concerns and report the status of women workers
• Using Internet technologies to broadcast its financial education public service campaign to working women and their families.

External links

• Women's Bureau Home Page
• Publications of the Women's Bureau available on FRASER, the Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research.