A centennial celebration is taking place in the next year for the Women’s Bureau Department of Labor. The department reaches 100 years next June but the Director, Dr. Laurie Smith says that the celebration will last all year long.
This Bureau was created 2 months before the women’s right to vote was passed in August of 1920.
The year-long celebration will consist of launch in January and then recognize all the accomplishments of women in the workforce, including a “Hall of Honor” for influential women.
One of the biggest decisions they are helping work on in DC right now is paid family leave for mothers and fathers.
“Child care is an obstacle for women and child care affects families,” Dr. Laurie Smith said. Currently, only 19% of families have paid leave and they are hoping to raise that percentage and giving parents 12 weeks of paid family leave.
Dr. Laurie Smith, who worked in Mississippi before moving to Washington DC, said that among many things to be proud of in the state it should include the NAP scores in Mississippi 4th grade reading levels.
Mississippi was the only state to show gains in the years 2013, 2015, 2017 and again in 2019. Smith said that you can actually see the improvement in the numbers in the state. Every other state in the nation has either stayed the same or gone down in their levels.
There has been a rise of 10 points in reading scores for 4th-grade students. Not only does the help students in scores and getting through school but also sets them up to be successful citizens.
For more information on the centennial celebration for the Women’s Bureau Department of Labor, you can go to their website.
