Joe Biden will mark International Women’s Day with two major decision
US President Joe Biden is set to commemorate International Women’s Day by signing two executive orders. Firstly,he will formally create a Gender Policy Council within the White House, as part of the orders.
The Gender Policy Council will consist of four members, three of whom will be holding the title of special assistants to the President, as per a senior administration official who previewed the two orders.
The orders are aimed at ensuring gender equality and equity throughout the federal government, especially when women, particularly Black and Latina women, are being disproportionately afflicted by COVID-19.
The council’s mandate is to work across the federal government’s domestic and foreign policy to fight discrimination and bias, boost economic security, increase access to health care, and advance general equality through diplomacy, trade and defense.
The second-order asks the Department of Education to review the changes to Title IX,1972 that took place during Donald Trump’s administration. Title IX refers to the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education, as per administration officials. The goal is to ensure education to students that is free from sexual violence, said the official.
The Trump administration also removed key Obama- era policies and implemented their rules relating to transgender as well. So now, the council will also focus on transgender rights and supporting care workers, predominantly women of color. Biden’s executive order instructs the agency to make sure all policies related to Title IX are consistent with the ethos of the Biden-Harris administration, the official added.
“The full participation of all people, including women and girls, across all aspects of our society is essential to the economic well-being, health, and security of our country and of the world,” a senior administration official said while outlining the executive orders.
“The White House Gender Policy Council will be an essential part of the Biden-Harris administrations plan to ensure we build a more equal and just society, aggressively protecting the rights and unique needs of those who experience multiple forms of discrimination, including people of color and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people,” the official said.
