The Office for Women's Rights was originally established in 1970 as the Women's Division of the Office of Human Resources in the Executive Department. Its mission was the promotion of equality for women in Seattle and the monitoring and enforcement of ordinances relating to equal employment and housing, and to provide staffing to the Seattle Women's Commission. In 1980, OWR was reorganized and its enforcement function was transferred to the Human Rights Department. OWR then assumed a broader role in advocacy, education and outreach, and policy development regarding women's issues. In 1997, OWR was abolished and its functions were incorporated into the Office of Civil Rights.
The annual reports include program overviews, Affirmative Action activities, enforcement activities of the Fair Employment Practices Ordinance, and a description of the activities of the Women's Commission.
Records are open to the public.
A Comptroller or Clerk File (CF) can consist of correspondence, reports, petitions, contracts, agreements, etc. from elected officials, City departments, other government agencies, or the general public, which have been placed "on file" with the Office of the City Clerk (OCC). They are primarily permanent records, but also include routine material which was periodically purged. Certain archival records identified in the CF have been removed, arranged into records series, and incorporated into the collection of the Seattle Municipal Archives, a program of the OCC.
[Item and date], Office of Women's Rights Annual Reports, Record Series 1802-J3 Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.