Grants Available to Inform Women of Labor Rights and Benefits

Although women make up a substantial portion of workers in the cleaning industry, some may be unaware of their labor rights. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a US$1.5 million funding opportunity to better inform women workers about labor rights and benefits in the workplace in all 50 U.S. states and territories such as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The funding will support up to six Fostering Access, Rights and Equity (FARE) grants of $250,000 each for outreach program initiatives developed with community-based organizations and other nonprofits. The DOL’s U.S. Women’s Bureau and the U.S. Employment and Training Administration will administer the grants, which are designed to assist low-wage women workers.

“The pandemic exposed the current system’s failure to protect or serve women workers adequately, especially low-paid women and workers of color,” said Wendy Chun-Hoon, director of the U.S. Women’s Bureau. “The Fostering Access, Rights and Equity partnerships will inform women about their labor rights and benefits. They will also help ensure that women workers share in the prosperity of the nation’s economic recovery.”

Qualified organizations must provide one or more of the following services in order to apply for a grant:

• Provide outreach to vulnerable, low-income, and marginalized women workers
• Disseminate educational materials through varied platforms, including social media, in-person or virtual events, brochures and leaflets, one-on-one consultations, and other outreach methods
• Assist women workers with navigating and calculating benefits and connecting and referring women workers to additional services, benefits and/or legal assistance
• Raise awareness of women’s rights to benefits and assistance in their own communities.

The grant application closes on July 15, 2021, at 4 p.m. ET.