United States Women’s Bureau

The United States Women’s Bureau is an agency within the US Department of Labor and the only federal organization dedicated to addressing issues that affect women in the workforce. It develops policies and advocates for working women and their families.

The bureau’s predecessor, the Women in Industry Service, was created to address the huge influx of women into the workforce during US involvement in World War I (1914-1918). It conducted workplace inspections and prepared reports and recommendations. After the war ended, Congress created the Women’s Bureau to continue this work.

Background

The United States was experiencing a period of progressivism and reform at the turn of the twentieth century that developed as a backlash against the industrialists and financiers, sometimes referred to as “robber barons,” who had made fortunes monopolizing industries such as the railroads. Social workers, activists, religious leaders, and journalists worked to raise awareness of problems caused in part by accelerated industrialization and urbanization in the years after the American Civil War (1861-1865). These problems included poverty; crowding and unhygienic conditions in slums; the undue influence of business in shaping government policies; and the exploitation of workers.

While a significant portion of the population wanted the government to have less power, progressives recognized that industry and finance oversight and control could only be achieved if the government stepped in. Many of the goals for labor reform in general were outlined by faith leaders of the Social Gospel movement. The reforms they called for included the abolition of child labor, factory regulation, a living wage, and a shorter workweek.

Industrialization, despite all its shortcomings, provided opportunities for women that were unheard of a few decades earlier. In the early nineteenth century, the only work available to most impoverished women was sewing at home for low wages. The demand for military uniforms during the American Civil War led manufacturers to build garment factories. In the late nineteenth century, immigrants began competing for work in urban garment centers.

The International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), founded in 1900, helped organize a strike of women in the shirtwaist industry in New York in 1909. The shirtwaist was a blouse worn by women of many economic classes. The Uprising of 20,000, as it was called, succeeded in achieving better wages for many workers, but in some factories, the pay and conditions remained deplorable.

The owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York did not bow to union demands. When the strike ended, workers as young as fifteen returned to the factory, which operated on the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors of a brick building. They worked twelve-and-a-half-hour days seven days a week, with a half-hour lunch break, earning about $6 a week. The factory drew international attention on March 25, 1911, when a fire killed 146 workers, mostly immigrant women in their teens and twenties. A city government investigation revealed that the exit doors were locked, the fire escape bent as workers tried to escape, baskets of flammable materials blocked the narrow aisles, and the water buckets—the only means of dousing a fire—were empty. Workers died of smoke inhalation, burned to death, or leaped from windows to escape the flames.

The tragedy awakened New Yorkers to the plight of factory workers. Many attended a public meeting to demand action on fire safety. More than 350,000 people participated in a funeral march for the workers. A few weeks later, New York State established the Factory Investigating Commission, which helped develop new labor laws. The fire also prompted a national discussion of working conditions.

Greater numbers of women entered the workforce as men enlisted in the military and the economy mobilized for World War I (1914–1918). Women filled many of the openings the men left, as well as new war production jobs. The US Department of Labor established a new division, Women in Industry Service (WIS), in July 1918. WIS was to address labor issues affecting female workers, many of whom worked under government contracts. The WIS conducted field investigations of war manufacturing plants and reported on unsafe conditions. Director Mary van Kleeck and her team developed labor standards that endured long after the WIS ceased to operate. The division’s Standards for the Employment of Women in Industry was adapted and later became the basis for the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

Although the war ended four months after the WIS was created, van Kleek lobbied for the work of the division to continue. The Women’s Bureau was created in 1920. Its first director, Mary Anderson, had been assistant director of WIS.

Overview

When the Women’s Bureau was created, fewer than 21 percent of all workers in the US were women. In 2024, women made up nearly 47.7 percent of the workforce. The Women’s Bureau, which by law must have a female director, has worked to improve working conditions for more than a century.

In modern times, the Women’s Bureau addresses issues that affect working women overall as well as historically marginalized communities, such as women of color. It also partners with other government divisions. For example, it worked with the Office of Disability Employment Policy to develop an online Workplace Flexibility Toolkit to increase opportunities for single parents, mature workers, individuals with disabilities, and others whose situations may require flexibility on the job.

The bureau encourages women to pursue occupations that have not traditionally been regarded as appropriate for women. Toward this end, the division administers the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grant program. Organizations may apply for funding to develop skills training programs for women in registered apprenticeships and non-traditional occupations; offer training on creating environments that foster success to employers, workers, and unions; and establish programs to help women remain in the workforce such as support groups and networks. The grants are part of a push to increase the representation of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and reduce existing gender imbalances. As of 2022, women made up only 13 percent of registered apprentices. The bureau has also created a guide to green jobs to encourage women to pursue work in these fields.

The division works to educate the public about wage discrimination, which continues to affect women in the workforce. The Women’s Bureau has, for example, created videos explaining wage disparity and posted them on social media platforms. On its website, the division provides an interactive data tool comparing the median earnings of women and men in hundreds of occupations.

The bureau has also advocated for women veterans. It has conducted studies into factors that can lead to homelessness among female veterans and made suggestions for how to serve this population.

In the twenty-first century, the Women's Bureau continues to fight against gender inequities in the workplace. The bureau continued its focus on increasing women in apprenticeships, especially women of color. It continued to fight for the rights of pregnant and nursing mothers. The bureau continues to expand its library of resources for women in the workplace and makes these resources accessible to the public. Finally, the Women's Bureau has worked with the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris to fight for equitable wages for all genders.

The Women’s Bureau is headquartered in Washington, DC. The division also maintains ten regional offices in cities around the country. These are located in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City (Missouri), Denver, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Bibliography

“About Us.” US Department of Labor Women’s Bureau, www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/about. Accessed 21 May 2024.

“Data and Statistics.” US Department of Labor Women’s Bureau, 2021, www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/data. Accessed 8 July 2021.

“History of Sweatshops: 1880 – 1940.” National Museum of American History, americanhistory.si.edu/sweatshops/history-1880-1940. Accessed 8 July 2021.

Kiger, Patrick J. “How the Horrific Tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Led to Workplace Safety Laws.” History, 24 Mar. 2021, www.history.com/news/triangle-shirtwaist-factory-fire-labor-safety-laws. Accessed 8 July 2021.

Klein, Jennifer. “The Biden-Harris Administration Advances Equal Pay and Promotes Gender Equity Through President Biden’s Invest in America Agenda.” The White House, 14 Mar. 2023, www.whitehouse.gov/gpc/briefing-room/2023/03/14/the-biden-harris-administration-advances-equal-pay-and-promotes-gender-equity-through-president-bidens-invest-in-america-agenda. Accessed 21 May 2024.

Manzano-Diaz, Sara. “The Women’s Bureau: A Continuous Fight Against Inequality.” American Bar Association, 1 July 2010, www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human‗rights‗magazine‗home/human‗rights‗vol37‗2010/summer2010/the‗womens‗bureau‗a‗continuous‗fight‗against‗inequality. Accessed 20 May 2024.

“Triangle Shirtwaist Fire.” AFL-CIO, aflcio.org/about/history/labor-history-events/triangle-shirtwaist-fire. Accessed 8 July 2021.

“Uncurrent Events: The Woman-Power Behind the ‘Woman in Industry Service.’” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 2019, fraser.stlouisfed.org/blog/2019/03/the-woman-power-behind-the-woman-in-industry-service. Accessed 21 May 2024.

“Whereas: Stories from the People’s House: Centennial of the Department of Labor Women’s Bureau.” US House of Representatives, 2 June 2020, history.house.gov/Blog/2020/June/6-2-womensbureau/. Accessed 8 July 2021.

“Women in World War I.” The National WWI Museum and Memorial, www.theworldwar.org/learn/women. Accessed 21 May 2024.