WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Women’s Bureau renewed a memorandum of understanding with the International Labour Organization office for the United States and Canada to continue working together to end gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work. The renewed agreement aims to strengthen care infrastructure – a key priority for the department and the ILO – by promoting international best practices into U.S. policy and programs, while also elevating domestic initiatives and progress in global meetings and exchanges. Under the agreement, the Women’s Bureau and ILO, with support from the department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs, will continue to convene workers, union representatives, employers and government representatives to identify and share strategies to eliminate gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work. A central focus will be the strategies outlined in the U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, which incorporates principles from the ILO’s Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment. Building on the successful model established under the 2023 agreement, the Women’s Bureau, ILO and ILAB will engage in domestic and international meetings over the next year to promote regional, national and international best practices to address gender-based violence and harassment and strengthen the care economy. “Since we began working with the International Labour Organization’s office for the United States and Canada, we have seen the power of collective action to end gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work. Through over 40 regional and national convenings, we have heard firsthand from workers, unions, employers and government representatives about how we can enact worker and survivor-led solutions and shift culture to end gender-based violence and harassment,” said Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon. The partnership will also support the outcomes of the ILO’s General Discussion Committee on Decent Work and the Care Economy, while centering the voices of women workers in policy and programmatic solutions.“The International Labour Organization’s partnership with the Women’s Bureau brings workers, employers and local government leaders to learn from each other and tackle gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work. We can learn from effective responses and good practices around the U.S. and other countries, and across all sectors in the world of work,” said Director Amber Barth of the International Labour Organization office for the United States and Canada. “Convention 190’s rights-based approach, which covers all workers, regardless of their employment relationship, expands the range of action-oriented strategies available to our partners in the U.S. We look forward to increasing the implementation of the principles of C190 as we work with the Women’s Bureau in conjunction with ILAB to contribute to the objectives of the United States on this critical issue for building respectful workplaces everywhere,” Barth added.Director Chun-Hoon added: “Through this renewed partnership, we look forward to continuing to work together over the next year in various domestic and international spaces to support care workers and ensure that workers are safe and respected wherever they work.”