By the end of 1973, twenty-five percent of the City's employees were women, few of whom worked in management, protective services, and the trades. Through a 1972 executive order, Seattle's Mayor instituted a voluntary affirmative action plan for increasing the number of women and minorities in City employment. In response to the executive order, the Office of Women's Rights, the Human Rights Department, and City departments set overall City affirmative action goals. In 1978, the Mayor required that departments establish yearly departmental goals, by job category, for hiring women and minorities through an Affirmative Action Plan. The Office of Women's Rights was responsible for ensuring the success of the affirmative action program with respect to women; the Office worked with the Department of Human Resources, which was responsible for the disabled and elderly, and with the Human Rights Department, which was responsible of minorities. The Personnel Department assisted with recruitment, training, employee relations, and other issues relating to affirmative action.

These records include a history of employment discrimination in Seattle and drafts of the 1972 executive order on affirmative action as well as the 1978 Affirmative Action Plan. Also included is information about apprenticeship programs, federal contracting, and goal setting. The largest volume of records are monitoring reports, quarterly reports by department on the number of women in the department, and analysis regarding how affirmative action goals were being met.