The US DOL Wants Your Views about Working Women’s Issues

On February 26, the US Department of Labor (DOL) Women’s Bureau (WB) published a Notice proposing to conduct a survey about working women to identify employment issues and challenges currently facing women, including their perceptions on career choice and overall equity in the workplace, and also to explore the factors that contribute to women leaving and/or staying out of the workforce.

The last time a working women’s survey was conducted was in 1994. The current proposal would seek information from 2700 respondents.  Understanding women’s perceptions about the workplace and their participation in the workforce, and decisions related to work and family obligations, will allow the WB to share valuable information with employers, advocates and other stakeholders “to foster greater collaboration and inform policies and practices that meet women’s changing needs; and also foster greater public dialogue on these key issues impacting women in today’s workforce.”

Through its research, the WB has already identified a need for more information about specific populations of working women such as low-wage earning workers and women who opted out of the workforce, and specific topics such as factors impacting working women’s career decisions, off-ramping and workplace challenges.

The DOL is currently soliciting public comments regarding the efficacy of the proposed survey. Comments must be submitted by April 27, 2015 to: Angela Adams, U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Frances Perkins Bldg., Washington, DC 2021. The email address is [email protected].