White House Gender Policy Council

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White House Gender Policy Council
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Agency overview
FormedJanuary 20, 2021
DissolvedJanuary 20, 2025
Agency executive
Parent department White House Office

White House Gender Policy Council was [1] a department within the White House Office for the advancement of gender equity and equality in both domestic and foreign policy development and implementation. It was established upon the inauguration of the Biden administration and was initially co-chaired by Jennifer Klein and Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Formation

The council was a successor body to the White House Council on Women and Girls (2009-2017), which was established under the Obama administration but dissolved under the Trump administration, as well as the earlier White House Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach (1995-2001), established under the Clinton administration but dissolved under the George W. Bush administration.

In Executive Order 14020, President Joe Biden said:

The Council shall work across executive departments and agencies (agencies) to advance gender equity and equality and provide a coordinated Federal response on issues that have a distinct impact on gender equity and equality. The Council shall also work with each agency to ensure that agency operations are conducted in a manner that promotes gender equity and equality, to the extent permitted by law.

Accomplishments

The council was tasked with the creation and implementation of the Biden administration's National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality. [5] It advocated for lower childcare payments and better paid leave for families, and enforcing federal guidance that require hospitals to treat miscarriage patients in emergency rooms (regardless of an individual state's abortion laws). [6]

The council launched a $100 million Initiative on Women's Health Research. [7] After Roe v. Wade was overturned, revoking the constitutional right to abortion, the council worked to promote contraception access. It also worked to expand preventative measures for sexual assault, and safety and support measures for survivors. [8]

The office helped draft another Biden executive order that established an independent review commission on military sexual assault, which led to decision-making about military sexual assault cases to shift from unit commanders to specialized independent military prosecutors. [9]

The office also organized the inaugural "Girls Leading Change" awards, which were held at the White House on October 11, 2023 on the International Day of the Girl Child. [10]

Dissolution

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14168, in which he stated:

Efforts to eradicate the biological reality of sex fundamentally attack women by depriving them of their dignity, safety, and well-being. The erasure of sex in language and policy has a corrosive impact not just on women but on the validity of the entire American system. Basing Federal policy on truth is critical to scientific inquiry, public safety, morale, and trust in government itself.

The order rescinded the Biden-era Executive Order 14020, among others.

Personnel

Further reading

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government" . Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  2. ↑ Spencer, Erin. "Biden, Harris Form A White House Gender Policy Council". Forbes. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  3. ↑ Mucha, Sarah (January 19, 2021). "Biden Announces Creation of White House Gender Policy Council". CNN.com . Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  4. ↑ "President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris Announce Co-Chairs of the White House Gender Policy Council". BuildBackBetter.gov . January 19, 2021. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Fact Sheet: The Biden-Harris Administration Advanced Gender Equity and Equality at Home and Abroad". The White House. January 14, 2025. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  6. ↑ "The fate of the first-ever White House Gender Policy Council is uncertain in Trump's administration". AP News. December 18, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  7. ↑ Adashi, Eli Y.; O'Mahony, Daniel P.; Cohen, I. Glenn (September 2024). "The White House Initiative on Women's Health Research: A Presidential Boost". Journal of Women's Health (2002). 33 (9): 1151–1153. doi:10.1089/jwh.2024.0271. ISSN   1931-843X. PMID   38836766.
  8. ↑ Gerson, Jennifer (January 13, 2025). "'This work is not at the fringe': What it was like to lead the White House Gender Policy Council". The 19th. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Executive Order Changes How Military Handles Sexual Assaults". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  10. ↑ "First Lady Jill Biden Announces "Girls Leading Change" Honorees". The White House. October 11, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
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