I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2315 
To promote the economic self-sufficiency of low-income women through their 
increased participation in high-wage, high-demand occupations where they 
currently represent 25 percent or less of the workforce. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 23, 2011 
Mr. POLIS (for himself, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. MORAN, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 
MOORE, Mr. OLVER, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mrs. 
CAPPS, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. NADLER, Mr. HIN-
CHEY, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. FUDGE, Ms. RICHARDSON, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 
Mr. WU, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, and Mr. SERRANO) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce 
A BILL 
To promote the economic self-sufficiency of low-income 
women through their increased participation in high- 
wage, high-demand occupations where they currently rep-
resent 25 percent or less of the workforce. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Women and Workforce 
Investment for Nontraditional Jobs’’ or ‘‘Women WIN 
Jobs’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) According to the Council of Economic Advi-
sors, ‘‘occupations requiring higher educational at-
tainment are projected to grow much faster than 
those with lower education requirements between 
2006 and 2016, with the fastest growth among occu-
pations that require an associate’s degree or a post- 
secondary vocational award.’’ Some of the occupa-
tions cited in the report include electricians, plumb-
ers, aircraft mechanics and service technicians, elec-
trical power line installers and repairers, and envi-
ronmental engineering technicians, all of which are 
nontraditional occupations for women, as defined 
under the Carl T. Perkins Career and Technical 
Education Act of 2006. 
(2) Only 6.2 percent of employed women 
worked in nontraditional occupations in 2008. 
(3) More than one-half of all working women 
are clustered in 25 of 504 job categories tracked by 
the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Excluding teachers 
and nurses, most of these categories are among the 
lowest-paid occupations. In general, women working 
in nontraditional fields earn 20 to 30 percent more 
than women in traditionally female fields. 
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(4) The National Association of Manufacturers 
estimates a need for 10 million new workers by 2020 
due to the aging of the current workforce. Moreover, 
90 percent of manufacturers are experiencing a 
shortage of qualified employees including machinists, 
operators, craft workers, distributors, and techni-
cians. Women hold only 4.7 percent of welding, sol-
dering, and brazing jobs. 
(5) Women make up 73.7 percent of cashiers, 
whose hourly wage averages $9.52, but only 0.4 per-
cent of electrical power-line installers and repairers, 
who earn an average hourly wage of $27.65, and 
only 7.5 percent of telecommunications line installers 
and repairers, who earn an average hourly wage of 
$24.08. 
(6) Women comprise 71.1 percent of wait staff, 
whose hourly wage averages $9.99, but only 0.6 per-
cent of HVAC mechanics and installers, who make 
an average hourly wage of $21.57. 
(7) Women make up 94.7 percent of child care 
workers, whose hourly wage averages $10.15, but 
only 1.5 percent of electricians, who make an aver-
age hourly wage of $24.91. 
(8) Women comprise 92.7 percent of reception-
ists and information clerks, whose hourly wage aver-
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ages $12.63, but only 10.9 percent of surveying and 
mapping technicians who make an average hourly 
wage of $19.41. 
(9) Women make up 84.2 percent of office 
clerks, whose hourly wage averages $13.58, but only 
11 percent of computer, ATM, and office machine 
repairers, who make an average hourly wage of 
$18.79, and only 2.3 percent of aircraft mechanics 
who earn an average hourly wage of $25.62. 
(10) Girls comprise only 15 percent of students 
enrolled in high school courses leading to nontradi-
tional occupations. This proportion has stayed rel-
atively constant for the past 30 years. 
(11) An independent study conducted in 2001 
found that when programs, such as those under the 
Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occu-
pations (WANTO) Act of 1992, were implemented 
in an area, local women were 25 percent more likely 
to hold a nontraditional job and were more likely to 
hold these jobs years after the intervention. 
(12) More than half of the individuals receiving 
training services under the Workforce Investment 
Act are women. However, males who complete train-
ing are 11 times more likely to be employed in the 
occupational category farming, fishing, forestry, con-
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struction and extraction and 7 times more likely in 
the area installation, repair, production, transpor-
tation, and material moving. In 2009, earnings of fe-
males who completed training were 24 percent lower 
than the earnings of males in the first quarter after 
completing the training. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘designated region’’ has the mean-
ing given such term in section 116(c)(5)(A) of the 
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 
2831(c)(5(A)); 
(2) the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a partner-
ship— 
(A) among— 
(i) a community-based organization 
experienced in serving women; 
(ii) 1 or more employers or a business 
association; 
(iii) a registered apprenticeship pro-
gram if available in a designated region; 
and 
(iv) a public postsecondary education 
institution; and 
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(B) in addition to the required partners 
described in subparagraph (A), that may in-
clude business and trade associations, labor 
unions, high schools, and workforce and eco-
nomic development agencies; 
(3) the term ‘‘self-sufficiency standard’’ means 
a measure of how much income families need to 
cover their basic costs without subsidies, as deter-
mined or recognized by the State for an applicable 
local area using a consistent methodology that cal-
culates the costs of living and working (including 
taxes) based upon sub-State geographic location and 
family size and composition; 
(4) the term ‘‘non-traditional occupations’’ 
means those occupations in which women make up 
less than 25 percent of the workforce (as defined in 
section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech-
nical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302)); 
(5) the term ‘‘public postsecondary education 
institution’’ means— 
(A) a junior or community college, as de-
fined in section 312(f) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f)); or 
(B) an area technical school, as defined in 
section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 
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Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 
2302); 
(6) the term ‘‘registered apprenticeship pro-
gram’’ means a program registered under the Act of 
August 16, 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘National 
Apprenticeship Act’’ (29 U.S.C. 50 note)); and 
(7) the term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 3 of the of the Carl D. Perkins 
Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 
U.S.C. 2302). 
SEC. 4. GRANTS TO STATES. 
(a) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In any fiscal year in which 
the total amount appropriated under section 11 ex-
ceeds $50,000,000, the Secretary of Labor shall, 
from the amount appropriated under section 11 to 
carry out this section, allocate funds to States using 
a formula based on each State’s share of the na-
tional population of women from families with an in-
come of less than 200 percent of the poverty thresh-
old, according to the most recent data available by 
the Bureau of the Census. 
(2) REALLOCATION.—If a State does not re-
ceive funds under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
reallocate such funds to other States in the same 
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proportion funds are allocated under such para-
graph. 
(b) SUBMISSION OF STATE PLAN.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to receive an alloca-
tion of funds under subsection (a), the Governor of 
a State shall submit a State Plan that describes how 
the State plans to— 
(A) distribute such funds to eligible enti-
ties located in the State to increase women’s 
participation in high-wage, high-demand occu-
pations in which women are currently underrep-
resented in the State’s workforce in accordance 
with section 5; and 
(B) use such funds to carry out the state-
wide activities described in subsection (c). 
(2) ADMINISTRATION
OF
STATE
PLAN.—The 
State Plan described in paragraph (1) shall be ad-
ministered by a State workforce development board 
(as referred to in the Workforce Investment Act of 
1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.)), in consultation with 
a State entity (as defined in section 118(c) of the 
Carl D. Perkins Career Technical Education Act of 
2006 (20 U.S.C. 2328)). 
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(3) REVIEW OF PLAN.—The Secretary of Labor 
shall review each State plan submitted pursuant to 
this subsection within 60 days of receipt. 
(c) USE OF FUNDS.—The designated State entity 
may reserve not more than 15 percent of the grant for 
statewide activities to— 
(1) provide technical assistance to eligible enti-
ties receiving funding under this Act and to State 
registered apprenticeship programs and sponsors 
and joint apprenticeship training councils on meet-
ing their enrollment goal for women in nontradi-
tional occupations; 
(2) develop institutional and cross-agency poli-
cies and protocols such as memoranda of under-
standing that set goals for the hiring of specific per-
centages of women served under this Act into reg-
istered apprenticeships and permanent employment 
openings in publicly assisted projects; 
(3) engage in public education and outreach ac-
tivities, to overcome stereotypes about women in 
nontraditional occupations, including the develop-
ment of educational and marketing materials; and 
(4) provide training and technical assistance to 
overcome gender inequity among employers, reg-
istered apprenticeship programs, and State equal 
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employment opportunity and affirmative action 
agencies. 
SEC. 5. STATE GRANTS TO PARTNERSHIPS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) ALLOCATIONS AUTHORIZED.—A State re-
ceiving funds under section 4 shall allocate the funds 
not reserved to carry out the statewide activities de-
scribed in section 4(c) to eligible entities in the State 
to support the recruitment, training, placement, and 
retention of women in nontraditional occupations. 
(2) ALLOCATION
DURATION.—An allocation 
under this section to an eligible entity shall be made 
for not more than 2 years with the possibility of a 
multi-year renewal upon submission of a renewal ap-
plication containing information— 
(A) about the effectiveness of the services 
and activities provided under subsection (d)(1) 
using the funds made available under the first 
allocation; and 
(B) any such additional information as the 
Secretary may require. 
(3) 
ALLOCATION
AMOUNT.—An 
allocation 
under this section to an eligible entity shall be of 
sufficient size and scope to support the effective im-
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plementation of the services and activities described 
in subsection (d)(1). 
(b) APPLICATION PROCESS.—An eligible entity that 
desires to receive funds under this section shall submit an 
application to the designated State agency. Such applica-
tion shall provide a plan detailing the roles and respon-
sibilities of partnership members and how funds will be 
used in conjunction with funding from other public or pri-
vate sources to carry out the activities described in sub-
section (d). 
(c) PRIORITIES.—In allocating funds under this sec-
tion, a State agency shall give priority to eligible entities 
that— 
(1) include entities with demonstrated success 
in recruiting and preparing low-income women for 
nontraditional occupations, and local workforce 
boards established under the Workforce Investment 
Act; or 
(2) leverage additional public and private re-
sources to fund training programs, including cash or 
in-kind matches from employers. 
(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(1) SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES.—An eligible en-
tity receiving funds under this section shall— 
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(A) conduct public education and outreach 
designed to overcome stereotypes and develop 
family support and encouragement; 
(B) recruit low-income women for careers 
in nontraditional occupations and provide com-
prehensive career guidance and counseling, in-
cluding regional labor market information and 
projections about nontraditional jobs and salary 
information; 
(C) conduct individual assessments and 
employment counseling, including instruction on 
the use of online job search databases; 
(D) assist low-income women to access 
programs leading to a degree, industry recog-
nized certificate or credential, and apprentice-
ship programs that will prepare them for high- 
demand, high-skill occupations, including pro-
viding information about— 
(i) the quality and cost of the pro-
grams; 
(ii) available financial aid; and 
(iii) the use of self-sufficiency calcula-
tors where available; 
(E) conduct education and pre-apprentice-
ship and pre-employment skill development ac-
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tivities including basic skills, education, literacy, 
including financial literacy, and training; 
(F) coordinate with public secondary edu-
cation institutions to improve the transition of 
participants into— 
(i) an institution of higher education 
(as defined in section 101 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); 
(ii) a program of study (as described 
in section 122(c)(1)(A) of the Carl D. Per-
kins Career and Technical Education Act 
of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2342(c)(1)(A)); or 
(iii) a registered apprenticeship pro-
gram; 
(G) engage in necessary activities for the 
recruitment, preparation, placement, and reten-
tion of participants in registered apprentice-
ships, and postsecondary training programs, 
and permanent employment; 
(H) provide access to pre- and post-place-
ment supportive services such as child care, 
transportation, tools, application fees, dues, 
needs-based 
payments 
or 
stipends, 
and 
mentorships as may be necessary to complete 
training and retain employment; 
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