The Employment Collection is comprised primarily of printed materials and includes publications, pamphlets, periodicals, handbooks, statistics, bibliographies, biographies, reports, and newsletters pertaining to the employment of women. There are also unpublished writings and correspondence, photographs, and ephemera. The collection dates from 1817 to 1991, with the bulk dating from 1920 to 1976. Major topics include affirmative action, sex discrimination, labor organizing, married women, child labor, minority women, protective legislation, volunteer services, and specific occupations in relation to women. A section on the status of women in labor is arranged by country, primarily England and the U.S., then by states in the U.S.

There is general material related to women in over eighty different occupations, including a large amount on women in academic occupations, as well as women in the armed services, aviation, government and politics, law, science, social work, and philanthropy. There are also materials related to women domestic workers, immigrant workers, women in industry, jury duty, wartime work, Social Security, and day care. There is a substantial amount of information on women labor leaders and union members, primarily in the Women's Trade Union League, United Electrical Workers, and the Working Women's Protective Union. There are also numerous publications by the Women's Bureau of the United States Department of Labor. Other items of interest include a photographic collection entitled "Women at Work: Views and Visions from the Pioneer Valley, 1870-1945"; a board game from 1890, "Round the World with Nellie Bly"; interviews of Samuel Gompers and Jane Addams about Hull House conducted by Lucy Robbins Lang; a payroll ledger from Ashuelot, NH, circa 1870s; and posters from Geraldine Ferraro's vice-presidential campaign.