[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 669 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 669
To direct the Secretary of Labor to make a grant to a public university
to establish the Center for the Study of Women and Workplace Policy.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 24, 2007
Mr. Dingell (for himself and Mrs. Maloney of New York) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Labor to make a grant to a public university
to establish the Center for the Study of Women and Workplace Policy.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) According to a 2003 Government Accountability Office
report, even after accounting for factors such as occupation,
industry, race, marital status, job tenure, and differing work
patterns, all of which affect earnings, women are paid, on
average, 80 cents compared to every dollar that men are paid.
(2) According to the same report, the earnings gap between
men and women has persisted without statistically significant
changes for the past two decades.
(3) According to a 2001 report by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, the earnings gap among working men and women is
widest among parents.
(4) Some women choose to trade advancing in their careers
or higher earnings for a job offering the flexibility to manage
family responsibilities alongside work.
(5) According to a 2001 Government Accountability Office
study, in 1995 and 2000, female full-time managers earned less
than their male counterparts.
(6) According to the same study, in 7 of the 10 industries
studied, the earnings gap between female and male full-time
managers actually widened between 1995 and 2000.
(7) Women make up 46 percent of the workforce but represent
just 12 percent of all corporate officers.
(8) A reason for the continuing earnings disparity might be
discrimination as to which roles are considered acceptable for
men and women and how women are viewed in the workplace.
(9) According to the February 2004 Monthly Labor Review of
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Department of Labor
projects that the United States work force is growing at a rate
of 1 percent per year, in part due to the continually increased
presence of women.
SEC. 2. CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF WOMEN AND WORKPLACE POLICY.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Labor shall make a grant to an
eligible university to establish the ``Center for the Study of Women
and Workplace Policy'' (referred to in this Act as the ``Center'').
(b) Use of Funds.--
(1) Compilation and analysis of data.--The Center
established under subsection (a) shall compile and analyze
available data and data sets on the difference between the
earnings of men and women, including the Panel Study of Income
Dynamics housed at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and
to identify factors which affect differences in earnings.
(2) Dissemination of findings.--The Center shall--
(A) disseminate its findings annually to the
public, using a website and any other appropriate
means; and
(B) maintain a website to serve as a clearinghouse
for the data and findings of relevant recent studies.
(3) Best practices guides.--Each year, the Center shall
publish one best practices guide, as follows:
(A) Best practices guide for businesses.--Not later
than one year after the Center is established under
subsection (a), the Center shall publish a best
practices guide for businesses containing recommended
guidelines for--
(i) workplace equity;
(ii) retaining women in the workplace; and
(iii) promoting a family-friendly
workplace.
(B) Best practices guide for families.--Not later
than one year after the publication of the best
practices guide for businesses under subparagraph (A),
the Center shall publish a best practices guide for
families, containing information about--
(i) the policies of various employers
relating to workplace equity, retaining women
in the workplace, and promoting a family-
friendly workplace;
(ii) strategies for addressing inequity in
the workplace; and
(iii) recent findings on inequity in the
workplace.
(C) Subsequent editions.--The Center shall update,
revise, and publish a subsequent edition of each of the
best practices guides under subparagraphs (A) and (B)
once every two years after the initial publication of
each guide.
(c) Eligible University.--In this Act, the term ``eligible
university'' means a public university--
(1) with a school of public policy, a school of business, a
center devoted to the education of women, and social research
facilities;
(2) at which research is conducted on--
(A) gender differences and levels of achievement in
the careers of faculty members employed by institutions
of higher education;
(B) work experiences of non-tenure-track faculty
members employed by such institutions;
(C) policies of such institutions with respect to
work and family for tenure-track faculty members; and
(D) the number of women employed as chief executive
officers and directors at large publicly-held
companies; and
(3) which has designed or is in the process of designing a
national clearinghouse for information concerning gender
differences and levels of achievement in the careers of faculty
members and work and family policies and issues affecting
faculty members which includes citations to research and
examples of relevant policies and practices.
(d) Report.--Not later than 12 months after receiving a grant under
this Act, the recipient shall submit to the Secretary and to Congress a
report documenting how the university used the grant funds and
evaluating the level of success of the Center funded by the grant.
(e) Amount of Grant.--For each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012,
the Secretary shall provide a grant in the amount of $1,000,000 to an
eligible university to carry out this Act.
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