In the wake of the Wal-Mart employment discrimination case, Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO), Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD), Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI) have introduced the Women and Workforce Investment for Nontraditional Jobs (Women WIN Jobs) Act, which would provide women with help entering higher-paying job fields in which they are currently underrepresented.
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Get Your Report Now!According to a fact sheet issued with the bill, it bill would:
- Authorize $100 million for recruiting, training, placing, and retaining women in occupations that lead to economic self-sufficiency through innovative partnerships in each and every state;
- Require eligible partnerships to include a community-based organization experienced in serving women, employers or a business association, a public postsecondary education institution, and a registered apprenticeship, if available;
- Give priority to partnerships that leverage other public or private funds and also targets services to low-income women;
- Require grantees to conduct public education and outreach, provide career guidance and counseling, conduct individual assessments, assist participants to access postsecondary and apprenticeship programs, coordinate with high schools to improve the transition of participants into postsecondary opportunities, provide access to support services, develop employer incentives, collect and report performance data, and establish benchmarks, among other activities;
- Establish a bipartisan National Commission on the Status of Women in High-demand, High-skill Nontraditional Occupations, charged with holding hearings and recommending additional policies to raise women’s workforce participation in nontraditional occupations; and,
- Create a national clearinghouse to disseminate best practices and provide legal and technical assistance to promote the employment and retention of women in nontraditional occupations, as well as for a rigorous national evaluation.
According to a press release for the introduction of the Women WIN Jobs Act, “more than half of all working women are employed in 5 percent of occupational categories, most of which are among the lowest paid, except for teaching and nursing. Fields that employ the fewest women actually pay 20 to 30 percent more than predominantly female fields. For example, women make up 73.7 percent of cashiers, whose hourly wage averages $9.52, but only 1.5 percent of electricians, who average $24.91 per hour.
“To address this gender inequity, the Women WIN Jobs Act will help recruit, prepare, place and retain women in high-demand, high-wage nontraditional jobs. Through a new federal grant program that will support innovative partnerships in each and every state, this bill will enable women to become self-sufficient and earn more while simultaneously boosting our nation’s economy. Employers in several industries are facing severe shortages of skilled workers to fill the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs of the future – from information technology and the building trades, to renewable energy and energy efficiency."
The text of the ACT is available online.