Fighting for Working Women Since 1920
By Lucy Rose Davidoff on 04/04/2011 @ 03:00 PM
Did you know? The United States Women’s Bureau is a governmental agency within the Department of Labor and the only federal agency with the mandate of representing wage-earning women in the public policy process. Established in 1920, (the same year women got the right to vote) the Women’s Bureau (WB) has been instrumental in elevating the role of women in the workplace and in America. This year the Women’s Bureau celebrates 90 years of fighting for the rights of working women.
The WB’s vision is “To empower all working women to achieve economic security by preparing them for high paying jobs, ensuring fair compensation, promoting workplace flexibility & helping homeless women veterans reintegrate into the workforce.” As Equal Pay Day approaches it is important to note the role that the Women’s Bureau has had in historically working to protect this necessary tenant of equality. As their website says, “Pay equity is not just a woman's issue-it is a family issue, as well as a nation's economic issue.” Although the Equal Pay Act was passed almost 50 years ago, full time working women still make on average only 80 cents for every dollar that a man earns. The pay gap is even larger for women of color.
The Women’s Bureau has been at the forefront of almost every major battle for women in the workplace, changing their focus as the times changed. In the 1920’s the WB looked into the rights of Black women in the workplace, in the 1950’s they focused on ‘older women as office workers’, in the 80’s the WB launched a major initiative to encourage employer-sponsored child care and in the 90’s they researched domestic violence as a workplace issue. Today the Women’s Bureau is headed by Sara Manzano-Diaz, who has led the bureau to focus on the financial and technological literacy of Generations X and Y.
Equal pay is not just a women's issue, it's a family issue as well. Especially during tough economic times, women often become the sole provider to their family, making equal pay that much more important. So, as we celebrate Equal Pay Day, we thank the United States Women’s Bureau for their dedication to the rights of women in the workplace.
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