President Joe Biden is scheduled to sign two executive orders today. The first is to establish a Gender Policy Council and the second will direct the Department of Education to review existing regulations to ensure that they comply with the administration’s guarantee that all students will have access to education free from sexual violence.
The Gender Policy Council, which Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris announced before January’s inauguration, will be led by Jennifer Klein and Julissa Reynosa, who is currently Jill Biden’s chief of staff, according to The Hill. The Hill also reports that the council will have four other staff members, including two specialists on gender policy and one specialist on gender-based violence.
According to a statement released by the White House earlier today, the Gender Equality Council will advance gender equality in five key areas. It will address systemic discrimination and bias, as well as barriers to employment and economic success, including wage gaps. It will also ensure access to health care and equal opportunities in both education and leadership. Finally, the Council will advance gender equality on a global scale through diplomacy, development, and trade.
“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 nation and of the world,” the administration says in the statement. “This is a matter of human rights, justice, and fairness. It is also critically important to reducing poverty and promoting economic growth, increasing access to education, improving health outcomes, advancing political stability, and fostering democracy.”
The second order, as The Hill reports, is designed to target a Trump administration policy from last year that protected the rights of those “accused of sexual misconduct on college campuses.” The executive order will charge the Department with evaluating that regulation to determine if it is consistent with the policies of the current administration.
Biden will sign the executive orders today — International Women’s Day — alongside Harris, who is the first woman to serve as Vice President.
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