Idea of the Day: Improve Information Available about Work-Family Benefits in Federal Contractors

Far too little is known about the federal contractor workforce. The federal government does not collect the most basic information on the number of employees supported by federal contracts. And the government currently does not make public the basic information collected from federal contractors about the racial and gender breakdown of their workforce.

The federal government needs to begin to collect and make public these essential data. It should start by reinstating the Equal Opportunity Survey to help the government know which contractors are struggling with women entering and advancing in the workforce.

But research on family-friendly policies should go beyond the EO survey to examine federal contractor family-friendly policies offered by company size and type and by employees within these companies. And the government should investigate the availability and efficacy of the family-friendly benefits offered by federal contractors.

For more of this topic, please see:

• Making Government Work for Families, by Ann O’Leary.