The Obama administration's effort to stop the so-called "war on women" is going global.
The Department of Labor announced this week that it will award about $1.4 million in grant funding to entities that will help fight labor discrimination in Mexico.
The Department of Labor, run by Secretary Tom Perez, has announced a $1.4 million grant to help boost fair labor laws in Mexico. Andrew Burton/Getty Images
The grant is aimed at helping Mexico enforce its own labor laws to stop sexual harassment and discrimination based on gender. But it's also aimed at stopping discrimination against LGBT workers, and to stop "forced pregnancy testing."
"Countries like Mexico are making welcome progress in reforming laws to better protect workers from discrimination and harassment based on gender or sexual orientation," said Carol Pier, deputy undersecretary of labor for international affairs. "This project will support the Mexican government's efforts to more effectively enforce such non-discrimination provisions of the Mexican Federal Labor Law Reform of 2012."
The grant is expected to help fund work in this area over a three-year period, and the award can go to any commercial, educational or nonprofit group, including faith-based groups, that can outline a way to support that mission.
"The project will focus on improving enforcement of these protections by labor inspectors, increasing employer participation in government social compliance programs that incorporate best practices to combat labor discrimination, and raising public awareness of the recent legal reforms on labor discrimination," Labor said Tuesday.
The Department of Labor will accept applications through November 7, and awards will be announced by the end of the year.
Labor department officials have recently awarded a few other grants to help boost labor law enforcement around the world. In September, Labor announced a $2 million grant to boost Peru's ability to enforce its laws.
Also in September, Labor announced a $10 million grant to implement a "technical assistance project to support global efforts to create safer and healthier workplaces." Another $10 million was offered to "implement impact evaluations globally to expand the evidence base on child labor and forced labor."
