I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 399 

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 9, 2009 

Mr. DINGELL (for himself and Mrs. MALONEY) 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) According to a 2003 Government Account6 ability Office report, even after accounting for fac7 tors such as occupation, industry, race, marital sta8 tus, job tenure, and differing work patterns, all of 

9 which affect earnings, women are paid, on average, 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
2 

•HR 399 IH

1 80 cents compared to every dollar that men are 

2 paid. 

3 (2) According to the same report, the earnings 

4 gap between men and women has persisted without 

5 statistically significant changes for the past two dec6 ades. 

7 (3) According to a 2001 report by the Bureau 

8 of Labor Statistics, the earnings gap among working 

9 men and women is widest among parents. 

10 (4) Some women choose to trade advancing in 

11 their careers or higher earnings for a job offering 

12 the flexibility to manage family responsibilities 

13 alongside work. 

14 (5) According to a 2001 Government Account15 ability Office study, in 1995 and 2000, female full16 time managers earned less than their male counter17 parts. 

18 (6) According to the same study, in 7 of the 10 

19 industries studied, the earnings gap between female 

20 and male full-time managers actually widened be21 tween 1995 and 2000. 

22 (7) Women make up 46 percent of the work23 force but represent just 12 percent of all corporate 

24 officers. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
3 

•HR 399 IH

1 (8) A reason for the continuing earnings dis2 parity might be discrimination as to which roles are 

3 considered acceptable for men and women and how 

4 women are viewed in the workplace. 

5 (9) According to the February 2004 Monthly 

6 Labor Review of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 

7 Department of Labor projects that the United 

8 States work force is growing at a rate of 1 percent 

9 per year, in part due to the continually increased 

10 presence of women. 

11 SEC. 2. CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF WOMEN AND WORK12 PLACE POLICY. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

14 make a grant to an eligible university to establish the 

15 ‘‘Center for the Study of Women and Workplace Policy’’ 

16 (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Center’’). 

17 (b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

18 (1) COMPILATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA.— 

19 The Center established under subsection (a) shall 

20 compile and analyze available data and data sets on 

21 the difference between the earnings of men and 

22 women, including the Panel Study of Income Dy23 namics housed at the University of Michigan in Ann 

24 Arbor, and to identify factors which affect dif25 ferences in earnings. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
4 

•HR 399 IH

1 (2) DISSEMINATION OF FINDINGS.—The Center 

2 shall— 

3 (A) disseminate its findings annually to 

4 the public, using a website and any other ap5 propriate means; and 

6 (B) maintain a website to serve as a clear7 inghouse for the data and findings of relevant 

8 recent studies. 

9 (3) BEST PRACTICES GUIDES.—Each year, the 

10 Center shall publish one best practices guide, as fol11 lows: 

12 (A) BEST PRACTICES GUIDE FOR BUSI13 NESSES.—Not later than one year after the 

14 Center is established under subsection (a), the 

15 Center shall publish a best practices guide for 

16 businesses containing recommended guidelines 

17 for— 

18 (i) workplace equity; 

19 (ii) retaining women in the workplace; 

20 and 

21 (iii) promoting a family-friendly work22 place. 

23 (B) BEST PRACTICES GUIDE FOR FAMI24 LIES.—Not later than one year after the publi25 cation of the best practices guide for businesses 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
5 

•HR 399 IH

1 under subparagraph (A), the Center shall pub2 lish a best practices guide for families, con3 taining information about— 

4 (i) the policies of various employers 

5 relating to workplace equity, retaining 

6 women in the workplace, and promoting a 

7 family-friendly workplace; 

8 (ii) strategies for addressing inequity 

9 in the workplace; and 

10 (iii) recent findings on inequity in the 

11 workplace. 

12 (C) SUBSEQUENT EDITIONS.—The Center 

13 shall update, revise, and publish a subsequent 

14 edition of each of the best practices guides 

15 under subparagraphs (A) and (B) once every 

16 two years after the initial publication of each 

17 guide. 

18 (c) ELIGIBLE UNIVERSITY.—In this Act, the term 

19 ‘‘eligible university’’ means a public university— 

20 (1) with a school of public policy, a school of 

21 business, a center devoted to the education of 

22 women, and social research facilities; 

23 (2) at which research is conducted on— 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
6 

•HR 399 IH

1 (A) gender differences and levels of 

2 achievement in the careers of faculty members 

3 employed by institutions of higher education; 

4 (B) work experiences of non-tenure-track 

5 faculty members employed by such institutions; 

6 (C) policies of such institutions with re7 spect to work and family for tenure-track fac8 ulty members; and 

9 (D) the number of women employed as 

10 chief executive officers and directors at large 

11 publicly held companies; and 

12 (3) which has designed or is in the process of 

13 designing a national clearinghouse for information 

14 concerning gender differences and levels of achieve15 ment in the careers of faculty members and work 

16 and family policies and issues affecting faculty mem17 bers which includes citations to research and exam18 ples of relevant policies and practices. 

19 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after receiv20 ing a grant under this Act, the recipient shall submit to 

21 the Secretary and to Congress a report documenting how 

22 the university used the grant funds and evaluating the 

23 level of success of the Center funded by the grant. 

24 (e) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—For each of fiscal years 

25 2010 through 2014, the Secretary shall provide a grant 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
7 

•HR 399 IH

1 in the amount of $1,000,000 to an eligible university to 

2 carry out this Act. 

Æ 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS