The Madeline Mixer Papers contain materials created and collected primarily during Madeline Mixer's tenure (1962-1995) as the director of the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau Region IX office.

The Women's Bureau was established in the U.S. Department of Labor on June 5, 1920, to "formulate standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable employment." It also gave the Bureau the authority to investigate and report to the U.S. Department of Labor upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of women in industry. The focus of Mixer's work as director was on working women, and especially women working in nontraditional occupations.

The collection includes materials generated by the Department of Labor and other federal departments, and the national Women's Bureau based in Washington, D.C. There are extensive materials from Mixer's regional office in San Francisco, including correspondence, and statistical information on women in trade apprenticeships, and nontraditional occupations. Other materials pertain to the education and counseling of girls and women at the K-12 and college level to break down traditional gender-assigned work, and raise awareness of trade occupations and careers in math and science for women. There is also information on federally-funded mega construction projects and compliance with affirmative action requirements, and a significant amount of materials that document the work of national, state, and local commissions on the status of women.

Also included are documents and publications from Tradeswomen, Inc., and two cartons contain various published reports and papers pertaining to women's work. Topics include household occupations, part-time employment, childcare, technology, sexual harassment and discrimination, and working mothers. Three cartons contain materials from women-focused organizations.